'I will build a mountain of evidence' against Harrogate Spring Water expansion project says Harrogate MP
Harrogate’s MP is stepping up his determined campaign to “save Rotary Wood for the community” after a stormy meeting deferred making a decision over Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans.
Tom Gordon MP said he would be “building a mountain of evidence” to show that Harrogate was opposed to the business expansion project before the next meeting of North Yorkshire councillors to decide on the famous water brand’s plans.
"I'm dismayed that the decision was taken by North Yorkshire Councillors to defer a planning decision over Danone's application,” said the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
"Rotary Wood is a cherished part of our community and we need to save it and not let Danone, a multi-national corporation, take it from our community.
"Between now and the next planning vote, I'll be helping save Rotary Wood by building a mountain of evidence to show that Harrogate rejects these plans and that our community wants to keep our beloved woodland.
"I'm also working closely with Harlow's Harrogate Town Councillor, Coun Graham Dixon, to press Harrogate Town Council to take an official view on the matter.”
The Lib Dem MP’s determination that the trees planted 20 years ago on Harlow Hill should not be felled has, if anything, been given extra fuel by the release of survey data by Harrogate Spring Water, which was taken over by French giant Danone in 2020.
The company claims quiet but widespread support from the Harrogate public, something he says he questions.
Mr Gordon has not only launched a petition to save Rotary Wood but also a new survey on the subject to gauge public opinion over a seven-year controversy which has grown more fierce the more it has been debated.
The MP is also to hold a public meeting at the Harlow Green Hut on Harlow Hill this Friday, November 7 at 7.30pm where he will be joined by other community leaders to consult local residents on Danone's plans - and to speak openly and honestly about the next steps for the campaign to save Rotary Wood.