Harrogate Spring Water submits its 'final expansion plans' after consultation and controversy

Harrogate Spring Water originally secured outline planning permission to build a larger bottling plant in 2017, which remains valid, but has faced major opposition for environmental reasons from the town’s MP, local councillors, green campaigners and community groups in its push to secure the reserved matters stage deals with its appearance, size and landscaping.

At the heart of the latest proposal by the bottled water company, which, in 2020, became part of the Danone empire which also owns Evian and Volvic, remains the creation of a new, publicly accessible woodland spanning two acres of land, located adjacent to Rotary Wood and behind the existing Harrogate Spring Water site on Harlow Moor Road.

The final submission contains amendments to the plan originally submitted to North Yorkshire Council in October 2024, incorporating feedback from the council’s experts.

Revisions include:

A reconfigured building shape to align with the minimum parameters outlined in the planning permission

A reduction in the number of trees to be planted in the publicly accessible woodland to ensure it has the best chance to flourish – and a matching commitment to increase planting locally to deliver on our promise on tree replacement numbers

Updated tree proposals including a focus on native species

Updated ecology reports

Following conversations with North Yorkshire planning officers, to align with the minimum parameters outlined in the planning permission, Harrogate Spring Water says that a reconfiguration of the building has been made.

This adjustment has led to a minor increase of 9sqm, approximately 0.18%, in space.

The building footprint amendment will have no impact on adjacent tree and landscaping proposals and will remain well within the development area.

Following engagement with council tree experts and ecologists, the numbers and types of trees planned for the new publicly accessible woodland next to Rotary Wood have also been revised.

North Yorkshire Council has requested that fewer, more mature and native trees be planted.

While the previous iteration of plans sought to plant in the region of 1,500 trees on the existing Harrogate Spring Water land and within the new community woodland, to comply with the request from the council’s arboriculturist, the number of trees will now be around 491.

This number and mix of trees are to allow the new woodland to grow, flourish and provide the best species mix for the area.

However, there will be no change in any commitment to the number of trees due to be planted overall.

While previous plans included an additional 1,500 trees to be planted on sites around Harrogate, this number will now be increased to 2,500 to compensate for the change and ensure the commitments made are still met.

The overall replacement rate will see six times as many trees planted in the area as lost.

In fact, HSW says, this additional tree planting initiative has already commenced, with 840 trees planted in the local area already, with more to come.

Richard Hall, managing director, Harrogate Spring Water, said: “Our roots are firmly embedded in Harrogate and the town has been integral to our success.

"That’s why it’s vital to us that we continue to work closely with the local community as we plan for the future.

“Throughout this process, we’ve taken time to listen to the people of Harrogate and understand what matters most to them as we look to grow a thriving business that, not only brings investment and jobs to the area, but also proudly promotes Harrogate’s name worldwide.

“When it comes to tree planting, we have taken expert guidance to ensure we get it right. Following discussions with North Yorkshire Council, we’ve adapted our planting plans on site and within the community woodland to create a better balance of number and mix of trees.

"This means we’ll still meet our original tree-planting commitment, but in a way that gives the new woodland the best chance to thrive.

“Our goal is to leave behind something truly positive – a flourishing public woodland and six times more trees planted than removed. I believe that this is a best-in-class plan to deliver business growth while minimising environmental impact.”

The proposed expansion will generate over 50 new jobs for local residents and provide at least 20 construction jobs during the build phase.

Additionally, the expansion will drive a £2.3 million annual increase in Gross Value Added (GVA) of Harrogate Spring Water, bringing the total to £6.2m annually.

The Reserved Matters application will be available in the coming week on the North Yorkshire Council website at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/planning-and-conservation/view-and-comment-planning-applications

where the public can submit their views.

The application will then undergo a local consultation process led by the council before being considered by the Planning Committee.