Harrogate Spring Water vows to create more biodiversity than it destroys with new bottling plant

Rob Pickering, sales and marketing manager, said that he hoped the firm’s application to increase its footprint by more than 40 per cent would be supported by local planning officials and the wider community owing to the economic contribution the firm offers the region.

Planners are due to make a ruling on the application at the end of the month, with local campaign groups having expressed concern at the damage that will be created to the nearby 15-year-old Rotary Wood close to the facility on Harlow Moor Road.

However, Mr Pickering told The Yorkshire Post that the firm’s application includes plans for a 30-year programme of environmental work which will result in a net increase in trees and habitats, both around the expanded facility and around the wider town area.

“This business has grown considerably,” he said.

“We are positive about the future going forward and want to grow globally.

“This is investment in the business which will be great for the local and regional economy.

“At the moment that should be seen as a really positive and important thing given all the challenges that businesses are having at the moment.

“We are one of the bigger employers in Harrogate and we are an important part of the regional economy and this investment should be seen as an important step on that journey.

“This will essentially futureproof the business. While the interested parties and groups are all clear on this I do not think it is necessarily widely known in the community.”

Outline planning permission for an expanded development was granted initially in May 2017 but the firm decided last year that it wanted to go further so as to avoid having to continuously apply to expand it in the future.

And, owing to a legal requirement that spring water has to be bottled at source, it has to be carried out close to the site’s bore holes.

Addressing the environmental concerns, Mr Pickering said the company wanted to enhance the biodiversity of the area and not just mitigate against any woodland lost to the expansion.

“It is really important to say that this is not simply a replace and replant exercise,” he said.

“This is a minimum of 30 years’ worth of commitment and it will be closely managed. We work with a qualified ecologist to ensure design and landscaping will give greater variety than currently exists.

“As well as the work on site we have identified a local landowner where we will plant additional trees and habitat. This means there will be a net increase in trees planted and more diverse habitat of flora, fauna and wild flowers.

“It is massively important to us. We really want to reassure the local community that we are going to act in a considerate manner.”

Until last year, Harrogate Spring Water had enjoyed double-digit growth for nine consecutive years, thanks to growing demand from both the domestic UK market and exports.

Mr Pickering added: “I would like to think that with the way we operate and the considered way we do things that we will gain support both from the planners but also from the interested parties, particularly given the reassurances we are giving about the land we are developing.”

The Pinewoods Conservation Group who look after the area impacted added: “We remain very disappointed by the plans.

"The mitigation being proposed will be on private land and not available for public use. It is also way short of the ‘2 for 1’ condition that was added to the original application.

"As such there is likely to be both a loss of public green space as well as a massive ecological impact to the area. It is our hope that the planning committee see through this attempt at corporate greenwashing and reject this amendment.”