Arnos Vale cemetery appeal begins for £500,000 target

The cemetery re-opened in 2010 after a £5m restoration project

An appeal has begun to raise £500,000 for the Arnos Vale cemetery in Bristol in order to secure match funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust is one of 16 organisations chosen to join the HLF Catalyst Endowment Fund.

The Trust's chief executive, Juliette Randall, said: "It's got Grade II listed buildings and they're very expensive to maintain."

Interest from the endowment fund will be used for the cemetery's upkeep.

"This money is for a specific purpose - it's to go into an endowment fund so we can't actually use the capital that we raise but what we use is the interest that we can draw in from the endowment so that money is critical," added Ms Randall.

The HLF will contribute up to £500,000 to the Arnos Vale fund but the trust must raise the same amount of money by 2016 in order to benefit.

A £5m restoration project on the 45-acre site which included a new heritage, wildlife and education centre was completed in 2010.

Since it re-opened three years ago, 45,000 people have visited the site, the trust has said.

The Society of Merchant Venturers has already donated £10,000 toward the appeal.