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09
Dec
MP calls on government to intervene on bottling plant expansion plans
The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Tom Gordon, has called on the government to intervene in Harrogate Spring Water’s controversial planning application to expand its bottling plant.
The plans would see the company, which is owned by French multinational Danone, cut down around 500 trees in Rotary Wood – a part of Harrogate's Pinewoods – and replace them with about 3,000 saplings on other land.
But the scheme has sparked widespread public concern and drawn more than 1,000 formal objections. Protesters cite a loss of biodiversity, loss of public amenity, and the threat of future further expansion as reasons why it should not go ahead.
North Yorkshire councillor Arnold Warneken of the Green Party has dismissed Harrogate Spring Water's mitigation measures as "greenwashing".
In his letter, Mr Gordon urged the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government to intervene on the grounds of "serious failings" in the planning process. He pointed out that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out at either the outline or reserved matters stage – despite this being a requirement for developments with significant environmental impacts.
Last month, a meeting called by Mr Gordon to save Rotary Wood was attended by local campaigners and around 70 members of the public.
There are concerns mitigation measures have not been identified, alternative options have not been considered, and the cumulative environmental impacts have not been assessed.
Mr Gordon warned that allowing the application to proceed without proper environmental assessment risked setting a "dangerous precedent" that would undermine the integrity of the planning system.
He is urging ministerial intervention to ensure the application is handled lawfully, transparently, and with full consideration of its environmental consequences.
Mr Gordon said:
The failure to carry out the environmental impact assessment appears to be a fundamental breach of planning law and casts serious doubt on the legality of both the outline permission and the current application.
This is a statutory requirement for developments with significant environmental impacts, and chopping down hundreds of trees clearly meets that threshold.
The Secretary of State must intervene to ensure the process is lawful and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the planning system.
Last month, the Rotary Club of Harrogate told the Stray Ferret it wanted further reassurances from Harrogate Spring Water regarding the section 106 agreement on mitigation measures, and last week, Harrogate Town Council voted to object to the company's plans.
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