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20
Oct
Council recommends Harrogate Spring Water factory expansion be approved
North Yorkshire Council has recommended that a plan to extend Harrogate Spring Water’s bottling plant should be approved.
The council's Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee will adjudicate on the proposal on Tuesday next week.
A council case officer has recommended they approve it in a report published today (October 20).
The expansion would mean the loss of around 500 trees in Rotary Wood, an area of community woodland planted around 20 years ago and owned by the council.
The company, which is owned by food and drink multinational Danone, says almost 3,000 new trees will be planted to make up for those lost due to the expansion and the scheme will boost jobs and the local economy.
The council case officer's report says the proposal "would cause harm (in particular the loss of trees and the impact on ecology and the landscape)" but concludes that this could be "adequately mitigated such that the economic benefits of the proposal outweighed the harm".
It adds: "The package of biodiversity compensation which is being proposed by the applicant is now adequate to demonstrate that ‘no net loss of biodiversity’ can be achieved."
However, the potential sale of the land by the council to Harrogate Spring Water could complicate the issue, as the wider Pinewoods area is a designated asset of community value.
The report says:
This means that, were the council minded to dispose of this land there would be a six-week moratorium period where the council could not dispose of it and this would be publicised in the press.
During this moratorium period, local community interest groups may express intent to bid for the land. If a group expresses interest, then a full moratorium period of six months would apply.
This gives local community groups the opportunity to put an offer together and place a bid. The asset cannot be sold during this time unless it is to a local community interest group.
An eight-year saga
Harrogate Spring Water received outline permission for the plan in May 2017.
Now, a council planning officer has recommend that the reserved matters application be approved next week.
The move comes as campaigners are planning a peaceful protest when councillors meet to decide the proposal.
Community group Save Rotary Wood Again has announced plans for a peaceful “tree-themed” protest ahead of the meeting at the Civic Centre in Harrogate.
More to follow.
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