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28
Jul 2021
Harrogate Spring Water to submit fresh plan for Pinewoods bottling plant
Harrogate Spring Water is preparing to submit a new planning application to expand its bottling plant in the Pinewoods.
The company issued a statement today saying it will not appeal Harrogate Borough Council's decision in January to refuse its expansion — but instead it will publish details of a new expansion plan "in the coming weeks".
Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by the French multi-national Danone, had applied to expand its bottling plant from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares, which would have meant destroying public woodland planted by local families in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.
To compensate, it offered to replant trees, create scrubland and build a pond on private land behind Harlow Carr Gardens.
The loss of trees at Rotary Wood provoked a major backlash and councillors on the planning committee voted overwhelmingly to reject it — against the wishes of council officers who had recommended approval.
Harrogate Spring Water was granted outline planning permission to expand to the west of its existing site in 2016, which meant the principle of development had been established but the details had not been agreed.
However, the company said today it was working on a completely new application and the 2016 application would be disregarded.
It has pledged to consult with the community before pursuing a formal planning application to the council.
James Cain, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, said:
Read more:
- Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods expansion refused
How Harrogate Borough Council benefits from Harrogate Spring Water plant
Rotary Wood fears remain
A spokesperson for the Pinewoods Conservation Group, a charity that aims to protect the Pinewoods, said it would review any new plans "carefully and continue to engage" with Danone.
They added:
Writing on Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones' website Community News, Sam Gibbs, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Valley Gardens, said:
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