New rules ‘ban blackberry picking’ in Bristol

Picking blackberries could be illegal under proposed new by-laws designed to protect Bristol’s parks and green spaces.

Everything from steaming crumbles to wild mushroom risottos are all under threat from the council, according to some of the city’s top foragers.

Foragers who take people on guided tours around Bristol have called the proposals “draconian” and are urging the public to fight them through the consultation.

The city council is suggesting 34 new bylaws for 212 parks and green spaces around the city, and are holding a consultation which ends on March 20.

Under bylaw 4,1,b, it states: ”No person shall without reasonable excuse remove from or displace within the ground any stone, soil or turf or the whole or any part of any plant, shrub or tree.”

Andy Hamilton, author and forager from Knowle, who runs a Gin Safari, told Bristol24/7 the new by-laws would be devastating for his business and foraging community in Bristol.

“I can quite understand the whole of ‘any tree’, but this bylaw will make the picking of an apple or a blackberry illegal,” he said.

“It seems rather a heavy handed approach to something that I am not aware of being a problem. It basically means I can’t do my job.

“The work I do is a way of engaging people with what they can eat and drink and get them outside. This law would put me out of that kind of job, and because Bristol is such a foodie place there are a lot of chefs who are experimenting with this type of stuff too.”

He added: “I can get why the council don’t want you to take plants, but it needs to be specific about what you can take. This just seems draconian.”

Anton Petrov, a forager who provides ingredients for Bulrush restaurant in Cotham, added that he felt it was sad that a city which had recently been European Green Capital was attempting to restrict “a way of bringing people together in nature”.

He said: “This law is restrictive. It’s narrow minded. We need an active participation in wildlife’s support, not exclusion from it. Look, I picked up a dandelion! I’m a criminal now! I’m sorry, but this is outrageous!”

A Bristol City Council spokeswoman urged members of the public to submit their views through the consultation and promised to take all into account.

They added: “The by-law in question is intended to protect plants (and other things) for everybody’s enjoyment and our consultation asks people to identify the impact they see it having, which may be positive, negative or both.

 “We are trying to build a framework that ensures that the by-laws allow as much as they can whilst enabling appropriate control of nuisance and other antisocial behaviour.

“The council will consider what the impacts of introducing this might be and respond after the consultation has ended.”

Read more: 16 new by-laws for Bristol