The woman running Bristol’s last working farm says she is having to put off attending farmers’ markets to sell her produce so she can keep guard at the farm, in case the neighbouring landowner arrives to cut through a hedge.
The hedge at Yew Tree Farm in Highridge is the one at the centre of a council bungle earlier this year, which mistakenly gave the go-ahead to the landowner to cut some of it down, even though it should have been protected. Now, Catherine Withers and her supporters are holding a demonstration this Saturday, calling on Bristol City Council to rethink its stance that nothing can be done about the mistake, which could see part of a protected hedge ripped out.
Mrs Withers, who is the second generation farmer at Yew Tree Farm, is inviting anyone who supports her defence of the farm to come to the demonstration, which is taking place on Saturday at 12.30pm. The owners of the land and their agents said all they want to do is cut through a small part of the hedge to create a 12ft gateway, so they no longer have to go through Mrs Withers’ farmyard to access their field.
Read next: Bristol council admin blunders mean protected hedgerow can be ripped up
But for Mrs Withers and environmental groups supporting her, the battle over the hedge has become a key one around the future of the farm, and the proposal to build more than 200 new homes on the field it encircles. An attempt by contractors to cut through the hedge in April sparked a blockade by Mrs Withers and other local residents, to which the police were called. Since then, Mrs Withers said she feels unable to leave the farm in case the contractors return.
Earlier this month, she pulled out of attending farmers’ markets to sell her produce, telling customers: “Apologies if you were expecting us at St Oswalds today. Sadly as we have to save the hedgerow we cannot leave the farm.
"I was hoping the council would have intervened by now after their sympathetic words." However, she claimed there had been no action yet to "reverse their incompetent decision", adding: "I hate letting people down, my little business is suffering."
The ‘incompetent decision’ Mrs Withers is referring to happened in February, when agents for the owner of the hedge and the field, which lies between Yew Tree Farm and the main A38 Bridgwater Road, contacted Bristol City Council and asked if they needed permission to cut through the hedge to form a 12ft wide gateway.
The landowners had rented the field to Yew Tree Farm for more than 60 years, but in recent years have signed an options deal with housebuilder Redrow for the land. They told Mrs Withers her tenancy was over - a decision which she said would severely impact on the economic viability of the whole farm - and said they wanted to cut through the hedge to the field to create its own access.
A Bristol City Council planning officer wrongly told the agents they didn’t need permission. Not only was that an incorrect decision, but other officers at City Hall were in the process of designating the field and the hedge as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest, following the discovery of an insect that had baffled scientists and could be an entirely new species of fly.
The land agents waited a couple of months before sending in contractors to cut through the hedge - which resulted in the showdown of April 3. It was only then that February’s error by a planning officer came to light, and the council now say that elapsed time meant the council had missed the deadline it has to legally reverse its initial advice.
Mayor Marvin Rees said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ at the chain of events which have now led to a landowner with permission to rip out part of a protected hedgerow, but the council have said there was nothing more they can do - something which will be challenged by Saturday’s demonstration.
"We are having a short demonstration at the farm at 12.30pm on Saturday to show how opposed we are to the crazy decision made by Bristol City Council for this beautiful hedge to be removed," Mrs Withers said, describing it as a 'peaceful protest against ecocide to an ancient and precious hedgerow'.
"We are hoping that our Bristol councillors from all parties will attend to show solidarity. Please share and come along, the farm is looking just beautiful and we need your support to save us from developers," she told supporters.
Two Green Party councillors in Bristol, Cllr Tony Dyer (Green, Southville) and Cllr Emma Edwards, the leader of the Green Councillor Group at City Hall, are helping to organise the demo.
“I was delighted to help Ms Withers arrange this demo after visiting Yew Tree farm with fellow Green councillor Tony Dyer," said Cllr Edwards. "The council has policies around protecting biodiversity and so it is a shock that they would allow this to happen. I know there is cross party support on this and I have invited councillors from all parties to the demonstration on Saturday. I hope we can come together with Catherine and local campaigners to show support for protecting this beautiful, ancient hedgerow.”
Read more on the saga of Yew Tree Farm:
- Diggers arrive at Bristol's last working farm despite Mayor's pledge to save it
- Redrow slams leading councillor amid Yew Tree Farm arson row
- New species of grass fly with unusual genitalia discovered in South Bristol
- Police called to Yew Tree Farm in day-long stand-off over hedge
- Disputed hedge at Yew Tree Farm 'saved' by discovery of new kind of grass fly
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