Harrogate Spring Water expansion plans: Managing director and MP clashTom Gordon MP opposes Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plansBoost for Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plansHarrogate Spring Water submits final Rotary Wood expansion plansExtinction Rebellion protests in HarrogateHarrogate Spring Water denies claims it could expand again

Harrogate Spring Water denied claims it could expand again at a feisty public meeting this week.

Managing director Richard Hall and colleagues were quizzed for over an hour at Pinewoods Conservation Group‘s annual general meeting.

The company wants to expand its bottling plant, which would involve felling about 450 trees in a section of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.

As part of the ecological mitigation strategy, it has agreed to buy two acres of land from an unnamed individual to create a publicly accessible wood with 1,200 trees — if the scheme is approved.

But this has sparked fears Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, could seek to expand again on its newly acquired land.

Mr Hall was asked if the company would consider gifting the land to the community as a gesture of goodwill and to prove it had no further expansion ambitions.

He said the land was “an expensive asset we have bought on behalf of the community” and it was “not considering at the moment” to hand over ownership.

But he added:

“We have no plans to expand the factory further. This is not a mass market brand — it’s a premium niche product.”

Sarah Gibbs, who is leading the Save Rotary Wood campaign, told the meeting Harrogate Spring Water had made a similar pledge many years ago before it was bought by Danone.

Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn for the Green Party on North Yorkshire Council, said the sum involved would be “insignificant” for a company the size of Danone.

Wednesday’s meeting

An audience member called Terry Byrne added:

“Unless you donate that two acres we will have the sword of Damocles over our heads. I don’t see how Danone, with its size, is not capable of doing that.”

No green roof 

The company was also under fire at the meeting on Wednesday (March 20) for failing to include a green ‘living roof’ on the proposed new building, which has been criticised for its “industrial” appearance by Harrogate Civic Society.

Nick Pleasant, the planning consultant from Stantec, said there were “certain challenges around delivering a green roof”, including the weight of the extra load.

The proposed extension building.

He added the company had listened to concerns and would produce a “fully compliant ecological mitigation plan”.

This includes working with an unnamed charity to plant another 1,500 trees around Harrogate, which along with the new woodland would mean any trees lost will be replaced on a 6:1 ratio. Harrogate Spring Water has also said the scheme will create 50 jobs plus 20 more during construction.

However, Mr Pleasant said a biodiversity report wasn’t a formal requirement at this stage and the company was “unlikely” to produce one.

Attendees also raised concerns about water extraction and the impact of extra lorries using the highways around Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate while Shan Oakes, the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said it was simply “unethical” to sell water in plastic bottles.

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough who has spoken against the scheme, questioned why Harrogate Spring Water could not go “above the bare minimum” by only buying two acres of land for a woodland — the same amount of land its new building will require.

Pinewoods Conservation Group chair Neil Hind

Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, asked what Harrogate Spring Water would do with the income from the timber of felled trees.

Mr Hall said:

“I can assure you that we have no intention of profiting from the wood.”

The issue is unlikely to come before North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee anytime soon.

Public consultation has been extended and another 21-day consultation is expected after Harrogate Spring Water publishes further documents after North Yorkshire Council’s arboricultural officer Alan Gilleard said he was “not in a position to support” the plans as they stood.

Pinewoods Conservation Group chair Neil Hind concluded the meeting by saying he thought the planning application might not be determined until at least late summer.

Even that is unlikely to be the end of the matter because if approval is granted, the council must then decide whether to sell or lease the land in Rotary Wood to Harrogate Spring Water.

Harrogate Spring Water received outline planning permission for the scheme in 2017, which remains valid. The current reserved matters stage deals with its appearance, size and landscaping. Councillors rejected a previous reserved matters application in 2021,

You can view planning documents and comment on the application by visiting the council’s planning portal here and typing in reference number 20/01539/REMMAJ where it says ‘enter a keyword’.

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Council tree expert ‘not in a position to support’ Harrogate Spring Water

North Yorkshire Council‘s tree expert has said he is “not in a position to support” Harrogate Spring Water‘s bid to expand into woodland alongside its headquarters.

Arboricultural officer Alan Gilleard raised a series of concerns in his response to the consultation on the company’s planning application.

Mr Gilleard said “normally an application includes a tree survey though I cannot find one”. He added he could also not find any evidence detailing the species to be removed.

He raised several other issues that required further information before concluding:

“Reading through the documentation we seem to be light on detail and some way off a position where we could support. At the moment I am not in a position to support.”

The company, which is part of French-owned multi-national Danone, wants to fell trees in a section of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood to make space for a new building. It has agreed to plant 1,500 saplings to create a community woodland as mitigation for the loss of trees.

Rotary Wood in the Pinewoods

The public consultation was due to end on Sunday (March 10) but has been extended following a request from Pinewoods Conservation Group, which does not feel it has sufficient information to give its view. Representatives from Harrogate Spring Water are due to attend the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, March 20.

So far the consultation has attracted 590 objections and six expressions of support.

Concerns about ‘large scale industrial’ building

In another blow for the company, Helen Golightly, the council’s principal landscape architect, has said the “planting details are incomplete for the stage of the proposals” and requested further details.

Ms Golightly said it was “essential” for Harrogate Spring Water to produce a landscape visual appraisal that “should account for the loss of woodland and the consequences of this on both visual amenity and the character of the area”.

She said there needed to be “a rudimentary tree survey” and raised concerns about the latest designs for the proposed new building. which she described as a “very large scale industrial building”. She said:

“The reserved matters application shows a building which is much more monolithic than the outline proposal which had a series of components which helped to provide some relief along elevations and incorporated areas of glazing along the north elevation.

“There was also a suggestion of a green roof which now appears to have been removed from the proposals.”

Harrogate Spring Water has pledged to replace any trees lost on a 3:1 ratio. It has said the scheme will create 50 jobs plus 20 more during construction.

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, previously said the new community woodland “will be fully accessible to the public and we hope will become a valued resource for the local community for many years to come”.

Harrogate Spring Water received outline planning permission for the scheme in 2017, which remains valid. The current reserved matters stage deals with its appearance, size and landscaping. Councillors rejected a previous reserved matters application in 2021,

You can view planning documents and comment on the application by visiting the council’s planning portal here and typing in reference number 20/01539/REMMAJ where it says ‘enter a keyword’.

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Local politicians give views on Harrogate Spring Water expansion plans

The Liberal Democrat candidate aiming to be Harrogate and Knaresborough’s next MP has said he opposes the latest expansion plans by Harrogate Spring Water.

However, the current Conservative MP Andrew Jones has not given an explicit indication of whether he supports or opposes the plans.

Harrogate Spring Water revealed proposals this month to fell 450 trees near its Harlow Moor Drive headquarters so it can expand its bottling plant and produce more plastic bottles.

It says the scheme will create 50 jobs and lead to a net biodiversity gain because it will create a 1,200-tree publicly accessible woodland nearby.

But the campaign group Save Rotary Wood is leading opposition to the loss of trees, which were planted by schoolchildren concerned about climate change.

Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by French multinational Danone, is holding a public consultation event at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate from 4pm to 7pm tomorrow (Thursday, November 30).

Ahead of the meeting, we asked Mr Jones and Mr Gordon for their views on the subject.

Mr Gordon said:

“Whilst I absolutely want to see more jobs in Harrogate, and the benefit that would bring for our local economy, I do not support the plans in their current form.

“We should be protecting woodland and preserving biodiversity; to suggest there will be a net gain is not guaranteed, as it would take years for new trees to mature.”

Mr Jones gave a lengthier response but did not state explicitly whether he supported the proposal.

He said:

“The level of community engagement by Harrogate Spring Water on their latest application is a significant and welcome improvement on their previous attempt to achieve approval for their extension. That public consultation is critical as the outcome will rightly be a significant part of the considerations of the Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee when they look at the application.

“The environmental offer is a big improvement on what we saw previously. And that is important, as constituents to whom I have spoken want significant additional tree planting and public access to that new woodland if the council are minded to approve the proposals.

“On the face of it, replacing trees that are lost on a 3-to-1 or a 6-to-1 ratio is a large increase in cover. The concern is that saplings will be replacing trees with 25 years’ growth. I have spoken to people who helped plant saplings in Rotary Wood all those years ago and I can understand why that is a very emotive part of these plans.”

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Mr Jones added:

“Having said that, it is also important to acknowledge that Harrogate Water is a successful local business that carries the name of our town across the world. I want that success to continue and to grow.

“So a welcome for the vastly improved public engagement, a welcome for the increased environmental offer alongside public access and a recognition that we want successful businesses locally. But I understand the caution about habitat loss and the loss of an area enjoyed by many for recreation.

“There is a public consultation event this week which can help further shape the proposals. I encourage everyone with an interest to attend that meeting and help ensure that the planners get the best possible application to consider.”

Campaigners to protest at Harrogate Spring Water meeting

Campaigners are to stage a protest at an event held by Harrogate Spring Water this week to discuss its expansion plans.

The company, which is part of French multinational Danone, revealed revised plans this month to expand its bottling plant off Harlow Moor Road. This would involve felling 450 trees planted by schoolchildren in nearby Rotary Wood to combat climate change.

Harrogate Spring Water has said it has a contractual agreement with a landowner to buy two acres of land and plant 1,200 saplings to offset the impact if its planning application is accepted. It claims this would lead to a net biodiversity gain on the site.

About 25 people opposed to the felling of trees attended a Save Rotary Wood event in Harrogate yesterday.

One of the children who planted the trees was among those attending, along with members of Zero Carbon Harrogate and Pinewoods Conservation Group, a North Yorkshire councillor and concerned individuals.

Activist Sarah Gibbs said she would protest in her tree costume at the public consultation event, which takes place at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate from 4pm to 7pm on Thursday.

Yesterday’s meeting also discussed developing a long-term strategy to save the trees and heard concerns about the wider impact development would have on the environment and Harrogate’s reputation.

Among the issues raised were more lorries using the site, whether greater water extraction would affect local water supply and the possibility of further expansion at the site.

Jessica Eaton, of Zero Carbon Harrogate, said:

“Where does it stop? And do we want Harrogate to be associated with plastic bottles? I’m fairly sure most people in Harrogate support us.”

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Arnold Warneken, the Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, said campaigners should focus on valid planning reasons for refusal.

One attendee described direct action as a “last resort” but “not inconceivable”.

Harrogate Spring Water already has outline planning permission, which means the principle of development has been established. It is now preparing a reserved matters planning application, which would agree the details.

Richard Hall, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, said previously the company believed its revised plans addressed previous concerns and “create a way forward together for the local community and for ourselves as a growing Harrogate business”.

He added:

“We would like people to come and see for themselves what we have planned and how we aim to carry it out.”

Anyone who cannot come along on the day will still be able to see the plans and have their say here.

 

Tree campaigner accuses Harrogate Spring Water of ‘greenwash’

Tree campaigner Sarah Gibbs has described Harrogate Spring Water‘s plans to plant 1,200 trees to offset the loss of 450 others as “greenwash”.

The company revealed yesterday it will create a two-acre community woodland if it is granted permission to expand its bottling plant on Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

Expanding the plant would involve felling 450 trees in adjoining Rotary Wood, including some planted by schoolchildren in the 2000s.

But Ms Gibbs, who frequently dons a tree costume as part of her campaign to save Rotary Wood, said “the idea that you can offset this destruction is ludicrous”.

Harrogate Spring Water said its plans, which would create 50 jobs, would see three trees replace each one lost and “deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity levels in the area”. It is also identifying other locations in Harrogate to plant an extra 1,500 trees.

How the site would look.

But Ms Gibbs said:

“A sapling is not adequate compensation for the loss of a mature tree.

“It’s a misconception to say they can be replaced like this. It’s incorrect in terms of the wider impact on ecology.

“Clearly they have not listened to the public. They should leave the trees alone. They were planted by children to avert a climate crisis. This is ludicrous greenwash and I hope North Yorkshire Council steps in and says ‘no’.”

Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, secured outline planning permission in 2017, which means the principle of development has been established.

But it still requires North Yorkshire Council to approve a reserved matters application that agrees the details of the scheme.

A previous application by Harrogate Spring Water was rejected by councillors in January 2021.

Managing director Richard Hall said yesterday the company had listened to concerns because the proposed new woodland would, unlike previous plans, be open to the public.

But Ms Gibbs said:

“26,000 single-use plastic bottles an hour, shipped globally. That’s what they produce now. If this development goes ahead this number will increase. Global shipment means lorries, planes will increase, CO2 will increase, water extraction will increase. The only thing that will increase that they care about, is profit margins.

“Who’s to say years down the line they won’t want to expand again and destroy more of our beautiful pinewoods, and planet.

“We need less plastic. We need to protect our existing woodland.”

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