Harrogate Spring Water reaches out to Pinewoods Conservation Group as Lib Dem candidate voices opposition to expansion

International drinks brand Danone, which took over Harrogate Spring Water in 2020, is looking to add a 4,500-5000 square metre facility at its bottling plant located on Harlow Hill to boost growth and jobs.

Having originally being granted outline planning permission for its expansion in 2017, opposition has grown against the idea of axing the trees at a community woodland called Rotary Wood.

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, has been keen to engage with the community ever since he stepped into the role in 2022.

It has now been confirmed that representatives from Danone will attend the AGM of Pinewoods Conservation Group, a Harrogate charity responsible for woodland conservation and management in the area which has expressed its concern over the environmental impact of the expansion of the bottling plant.

The meeting next Wednesday, March 20 at 7.30pm at The Green Hut on Harlow Avenue in Harrogate will afford the chance for both members and non-members of PCG to hear about Harrogate Spring Water’s latest version of the plans and the firm’s offer of compensatory land to be shared and discussed.

But Danone’s efforts to dampen down the situation in the run-up to a crucial planning meeting of North Yorkshire Council were dealt a blow when Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Harrogate & Knaresborough, voiced his opposition to the expansion.

After formally registering his objection to the proposed expansion plans, the Lib Dem candidate contacted the Harrogate Spring Water’s managing director requesting a meeting to discuss the proposals.

Mr Gordon said: "Rotary Wood is much-loved and chopping down established trees and replacing them with saplings is simply not the answer.

"We should be protecting woodlands and seeking to encourage biodiversity.

“To suggest these proposals would be a net gain is misguided at best.

"We know it would take years for any new trees to mature.

“I’m out every evening Monday to Friday knocking on doors and people across our town keep telling me time and again they are against the plans."

A previous reserved matters application was rejected by Harrogate and Knaresborough county councillors in 2021 after the controversy went national, attracting the intention of well-known TV presenter Julia Bradbury.

Since then, Harrogate Spring Water has signalled its intention to plant an additional 1,200 trees on two acres of land next to the existing Harrogate Spring Water headquarters as compensation for the loss of Rotary Wood.

Managing director Richard Hall says the new trees would become a valued resource for the local community for years to come.