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21
Aug 2020
Green Party to protest against water firm's Pinewoods expansion
Members of Harrogate Green Party will walk up Otley Road at 6pm this evening handing out leaflets about Harrogate Spring Water's expansion plans into the Pinewoods.
The water company, which was bought out last year by multinational firm Danone, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to extend its bottling plant into Rotary Wood, removing 4 acres of public woodland.
The company already has outline planning permission from HBC to extend its bottling plant into the Pinewoods — but in 2019 they submitted fresh plans that are 40% larger than the original proposal.
The Green Party claims the company has broken a promise to consult with them on landscaping for the updated proposal, which they say does not mitigate for the loss of woodland, which was a condition of the outline planning permission.
As part of the plans, Harrogate Spring Water wants to plant some new trees to the left of the bottling plant.
Read more:
- Littering in the Pinewoods ‘a continual problem’
Council ‘sets precedent’ by breaking listed building guidelines
Harrogate Green Party campaigner Rebecca Maunder said Harrogate Spring Water is "trying to fob the community off" with the new trees as a replacement for the "rich and diverse" woodland that will be lost.
Nicky Cain, brand manager at Harrogate Spring Water, told the Stray Ferret that the company still plans to consult with local groups but the process has been delayed due to coronavirus.
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