Editor's Pick of the Week: Harrogate Spring Water's hopes washed away

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We were in Harrogate, in spring, and water was bucketing down on the roof, so it seemed appropriate that it was for the planning meeting about Harrogate Spring Water.

The company’s bid to fell 500 trees to facilitate its expansion was this week’s big story.

About 100 protestors gathered outside the Civic Centre beforehand to demonstrate. Many brought placards. One woman was holding a green broom. Asked if it signified greenwash, she replied: "No, I just needed a new broom so i bought one on my way."

They then filled the public gallery but the sound of the rain, and the dreadful feedback from the microphones that seems to blight every meeting there, made it difficult to hear at times.

There was, however, no missing the loud cheers when councillors voted against Harrogate Spring Water’s latest planning application.

Whatever your views on the proposal, it was invigorating for someone who has covered endless empty council meetings to see so much energy and engagement in the room.

No news organisation has covered this issue more. You can read more about this week's meeting here and here, the response from Harrogate Spring Water managing director Richard Hall here, and an article about campaigner extraordinaire Sarah Gibbs here. She was jubilant but knows more than anyone the battle is unlikely to be over.

There was a fair turnout at Ripon City Council on Monday, when the topics included scorchers such as the mayoral lamppost working group, spending on Christmas lights and the state of the Thursday market. Strangely the BBC and ITV weren’t at that one.

Ripon city councillors aren’t the best of buddies, however, and its meetings rarely pass without flashpoints.

There was more fun to be had later in the week at Ripon Races’ first meeting of the summer. There are few better sights and sounds than that of hooves thundering down the final furlong at Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse, even if there is more chance of getting fuel at Tesco in Harrogate than there is of coming away with more money than you went with.

Sport of a different kind was on the programme last weekend when two local strongmen took part in major competitions. Harrogate’s Luke Richardson finished seventh in Europe’s Strongest Man, an event he has won twice, in front of thousands of spectators at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. Ripon’s Josh Berriman was crowned the UK’s Natural Strongest Man at an event in Wolverhampton.

With Darren Sadler running the Giant’s Live strongman promotion in Boroughbridge, there is something in the local water that makes people want to shift huge amounts of iron. Perhaps someone should bottle it…

Not only do we have to pay to drink water, we will soon have to pay to desposit it. 

North Yorkshire Council’s public conveniences working group, arguably more glamorous than Ripon’s lamppost working group, published its findings this week which included plans to implement charging.

The council’s drive to squeeze more money out of us also means van drivers will soon have to fork out to dump their rubbish at household waste recycling centres if they visit more than a dozen times a year. All vehicles will have to register to use the facilities from April 27, sparking fears of more fly-tipping.

Recycling, we are told, is good for the planet. Campaigners, however, will be hoping Harrogate Spring Water’s planning application doesn’t do the rounds again.