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.
