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19
Jun
Revealed: How much Harrogate Spring Water is paying for roadworks — and where they will appear next
Harrogate Spring Water has paid £600 for a licence to carry out a series of roadworks that will cause long-term disruption in and around the town.
The Stray Ferret reported last week that the company, which is part of French multinational Danone, was responsible for the ongoing four-way lights at the Curious Cow roundabout in Killinghall.
It has employed a contractor to install two pipelines but has been reluctant to discuss the project in detail.
It issued a brief statement to the Stray Ferret, which you can read in our previous article here, but declined to comment further.
The Curious Cow roadworks, which are due to end tomorrow (June 20), have caused long tailbacks in recent weeks. The appearance of the lights at the roundabout prompted a furious outburst from the owner of Pharmall Country Stores, which is based on Otley Road.
Numerous readers have been in touch asking for further details of the roadworks and the pipeline project.
We asked highways authority North Yorkshire Council which roads, and when, will be affected.
It replied in a statement:
Work has been completed on Otley Road, Killinghall, and is expected to continue on the Curious Cow roundabout until June 20. Works will then move to Oaker Bank under two-way signals until July 4. They will continue on Penny Pot Lane, Cornwall Road and Harlow Moor Road, but dates are yet to be confirmed.
The company's headquarters are on Harlow Moor Road.
Asked how much the company paid for a licence to undertake the work, and how the sum was reached, the council said:
As per the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, Harrogate Spring Water applied for a Section 50 licence to work in the highway. When Harrogate Spring Water applied, the fee was £467.87 (includes £150 inspection fee). Since April 2025, there has been a fee increase to £600 (includes £150 inspection fee). Fees are published on the website here.
Reader Neil Crabtree said previously he did not understand how a private business could be granted a licence for roadworks that bring so much disruption and only benefits the company.
We asked the council if it had a conflict of interests when determining Harrogate Spring Water’s request to carry out roadworks because it receives income each year from company profits.
Harrogate Spring Water pays 0.5% of annual profits to the council, which amounted to £176,806 in the financial year ending March 2024.
The council replied:
The council treats all applications to work on the highway equally and objectively, irrespective of the applicant. Companies have a statutory right to carry out these works and the council cannot prevent them from happening. Under government legislation, the permit scheme and street work licences are cost neutral and are charged to pay for operational costs of the programme.
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