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03
Feb
Government refuses to intervene on Harrogate Spring Water
The government has refused to intervene on Harrogate Spring Water’s controversial plan to expand its bottling plant.
Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by French multinational Danone, wants to fell 500 trees at its headquarters on Harlow Moor Road to make space for the expansion.
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, wrote to Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, last year asking him to intervene.
However, the government has now said the matter will be determined by North Yorkshire Council, which is the local planning aithority.
In her letter informing Mr Gordon of the decision, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, said:
I am sorry that this is not the outcome that you or your constituents may have hoped for, and I realise the decision will come as a disappointment.
However, it is now for North Yorkshire Council to determine the application. If your constituents wish to make any further representations, they should do so to the officers or members of the council.
Harrogate Spring Water has said the expansion would create 50 jobs and provide a £2.3 million annual local economic boost. The company has also agreed to plant 3,000 trees elsewhere.
Tom Gordon MP
Councillors deferred a decision in October 2025 after more than 1,000 objections were received.
Mr Gordon said:
It’s disappointing that the secretary of state has decided not to call in Danone’s planning application.
This is a David and Goliath battle, one of a large foreign multinational corporation versus local residents who will have to deal with the impact of our natural resources being exploited for private profit.
We have fantastic local residents, councillors, and organisations like the Pinewoods Conservation Group and a proper grassroots community led campaign - I’ll continue to work with them going forward as the application progresses.
Harrogate Spring Water received outline permission for the scheme in 2017, which means the principle of development has been established.
But its reserved matters planning application, covering issues such as access, landscaping and design, still needs approval before the development can proceed.
Councillors are expected to consider the plans again at a Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee meeting this year.
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