Leading Harrogate Lib Dem claims Harrogate Spring Water 'lacks answers' to worries over Rotary Wood expansion

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Harrogate & Knaresborough, made his comments after last week's AGM of Pinewoods Conservation Group which saw representatives of the bottled water brand take questions for more than an hour.

After listening to Harrogate Spring Water’s viewpoint on the amended plans is submitted last month to North Yorkshire Council, Mr Gordon said the public remained to be convinced about how it proposed to handle the loss of trees at Rotary Wood near its bottling plant on Harlow Hill.

"At the Pinewoods AGM bosses from Harrogate Spring Water put on an impressive display of looking like they were listening,” said Mr Gordon.

"But it was much the same debate that we have all heard before.

"Concerns about the impact on local biodiversity and ecosystem, to increased HGV traffic, to greenwashing and much more, were all brought up.

"The reality is that the company doesn’t have any of the answers to the problems that their proposed expansion would cause for our local community.

“As was mentioned at the meeting, the proposals run entirely counter to Danone’s commitment to tackling deforestation, conversion and land degradation.

"From the conversations that I’ve had with local people it would seem to me that they have failed to persuade local residents."

Owned by multi-national corporation Danone, Harrogate Spring Water took the decision last year to revert to the version of their expansion plans which had first won outline planning permission in 2017.

The contentious sticking point remains that this version would still involve the loss of Rotary Wood.

The four acres of deciduous woodland were planted in 2005 by the community, including school children and have become well used and loved by local residents, winning a Designated Asset of Community Value accreditation.

It's this which has led to the new version of Harrogate Spring Water's plans and a series of delays and public consultations.

The company says the revised version takes into account feedback the company received to its initial revised proposals in summer 2022, and the latest feedback from its recent consultation event held in November 2023.

The company has committed to planting an additional 260 trees on the current Rotary Wood site where it aims to expand its production facilities.

Taken together with the new community woodland, Harrogate Spring Water claims this means that any trees in Rotary Wood which are removed as a result of the proposed expansion will be replaced by a ratio of 3:1.

Harrogate Spring Water is also working alongside local forestry experts to identify other locations in Harrogate where an additional 1,500 trees will be planted, further improving the replacement rate.

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, said: “As a business whose success is rooted in the town of Harrogate and its people, it is really important for us to work in partnership with the local community."

But the concerns of Save Rotary Wood campaigners and local groups such as Pinewoods Conservation Group and Harrogate and District Green Party were reinforced when North Yorkshire Council’s arboricultural officer Alan Gilleard said recently that he was “not in a position to support” the plans as they stood.

As well as the general antagonism of many of the expansion’s opponents to the idea of the use of plastics in bottled water, it is the details of the plans which continues to fuel the long-running debate.

Among the concerns raised at Pinewoods Conservation Group's AGM were:

Would it be possible for Danone to sign the strip of compensatory land over to community ownership?

What stops Danone from extending further into the new land purchased if it retains ownership.

A lack of detail of both the variety, species and maintenance regarding the trees to be planted

The removal of the green roof from the original plan for the new Harrogate Spring Water building.

Harrogate Spring Water says the proposed expansion would help to create more than 50 new jobs for local people, in addition to at least 20 jobs in the local construction sector during the build phase.

It also says the expansion would boost the level of economic output generated – known as Gross Valued Added (GVA) - by around £2.3m a year to £6.2m a year.

Harrogate Spring Water’s reserved matters application - which deals with appearance, size and landscaping - will come to North Yorkshire Council's planning committee later this year after the previous version was rejected by councillors in 2021.

The Reserved Matters application is available at: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/planning-and-conservation/view-and-comment-planning-applications