One of Britain’s best-known bottled water companies is proposing to extend its bottling plant, which would lead to the loss of huge areas of woodland in a Yorkshire spa town.
Harrogate Spring Water wants to expand its operations and build on a 1.6-hectare (four-acre) area of woodland.
The woodland was planted 15 years ago by local schoolchildren, organisations and the Army Foundation college as part of centenary celebrations for the Harrogate Rotary club.
The site, known as Rotary Wood, is an addition to Harrogate’s 40-hectare Pinewoods forest. Neil Hind, the Pinewoods Conservation Group (PCG) chair, said in the face of a climate emergency it was vital to preserve green spaces and mature trees, and not replace them with a factory producing bottled water.
He said: “Harrogate Spring Water does a lot to share the name of Harrogate across the world, but is that benefit worth the loss of acres of woodland? We see no improvements or benefits that this planning application is going to give to the users of the Pinewoods.”
Dan McAndrew, a principal ecologist at Harrogate borough council, said no evidence had been provided to show how the extension could be achieved without biodiversity loss – therefore the application could not be supported from an ecological perspective.
Harrogate Spring is Britain’s oldest bottled water and is ranked the country’s number one premium water brand. The family-owned company prides itself on its green credentials, and says its Harrogate facility is one of the most environmentally efficient facilities in the world.
It received outline planning permission for the development in 2017, but has now submitted a revised application for a building 40% larger than originally put forward.
McAndrew said this proposed increase made it much less likely sufficient environmental compensation could be achieved on site. The PCG are concerned that the revised application does not include details of the number of trees that will be planted to replace those lost.
Harrogate Spring Water said updated ecological surveys would address these concerns in due course. Nicky Cain, brand manager for the company, acknowledged that it was “emotive land”. She said: “We want to retain as much as possible and make sure that it is still available for the public to use and enjoy.”
Cain said since naturally sourced water must be bottled at source, the company was limited in where it could expand in order to “remain competitive and grow the business”. She said some of the trees in the wood had failed to thrive, and that their plans would help improve accessibility to the site with new footpaths. Of the 1.86-hectare site, 0.8 hectares will be left as open space for public use, and will include paths, planting and sustainable drainage.
Cain said the company had held public consultations throughout the process. She said: “We wanted to involve everybody, and try and reassure people that we would only do what’s in the town’s best interest. We have a requirement to grow in order to survive but at the same time, we don’t want to do that at the detriment of our environment and our community.”
The Pinewoods, including the Rotary Wood, was given asset of community value status in 2015, which gives it additional protection from development.
Terry Knowles is a member of Harrogate Rotary club and was chair of the PCG when the Rotary Wood was originally planted. He said he was “pretty horrified” to see the company’s plans to increase the size of their extension.
Knowles said: “There are a lot of wild orchids on the site, and since we’ve put all the trees in there’s a lot more wildlife there. So it’s not only the fact that trees are going to be knocked down, but the fact that wildlife has been sustained in the area.” He estimates that up to 1,500 trees are at risk.
Harrogate borough council previously approved a plan to cut the district’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020, and recent plans include tree planting for every child.
Council leader Richard Cooper said last year: “I believe it is the most radical environmental manifesto put forward by a borough council ever and will place us at the forefront of the green movement in the public sector.”
A spokesman from Harrogate council, which owns the Rotary Wood site, said: “A revised application was submitted in December.
“This amended application will now be considered through the normal planning process including consultation with statutory consultees and the public. It will then be presented before the planning committee at a date to be confirmed.”
