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09
Aug
Harrogate Spring Water’s plan for borehole in Killinghall sparks questions about ‘at source’ claim
Harrogate Spring Water’s bid to bottle water from a new borehole in Killinghall has raised questions about whether it can continue to claim its products are ‘bottled at source’.
The company, which is part of French multinational Danone, has applied to the Environment Agency for an abstraction licence at High Warren Farm in Killinghall.
The Environment Agency confirmed in a freedom of information request, submitted by a resident and forwarded to the Stray Ferret, it had received an application.
The farm is about three miles from Harrogate Spring Water’s bottling plant on Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate. The firm is currently creating a pipeline to transfer the water — a project that has already required months of roadworks.
The company says on its website: “Our water is abstracted and bottled at source, in our state-of-the-art, showcase facility. It remains untouched following its journey, maintaining absolute purity.”
Harrogate Spring Water, which has applied to expand its bottling plant, says the claim is verified. But Pinewoods Conservation Group, a charity that looks after the 96-acre Pinewoods woodland, where trees will be felled if Harrogate Spring Water's expansion goes ahead, questioned the claim.
A spokesperson said:
Harrogate Spring Water has long marketed the unique status of being 'bottled at source' and this was a major justification for their development plans to destroy acres of public woodland. The creation of a new extraction well a substantial distance from the current bottling site fundamentally breaks that core principle. If water is no longer being bottled directly at its natural source, then any proposed expansion of the existing plant becomes unjustifiable. This shift continues to raise serious questions about the environmental rationale behind expanding their facilities.
'We expect all advertisers to be able to prove their claims'
An Environment Agency spokesperson said its hydrogeologists, who study groundwater, were assessing Harrogate Spring Water’s Killinghall application.
They said questions about the ‘at source’ claim should be referred to the Advertising Standards Authority, which we subsequently approached.
A spokesperson confirmed its rules extended to marketing claims on company websites “so the claim you have highlighted would likely be subject to the advertising code”.
They added:
However, the ASA has, to date, not had grounds to consider if the claim you refer to on Harrogate Spring Water’s website is a potential problem under our rules [misleadingness]. We expect all advertisers to be able to prove their claims. And ads should not mislead by ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise. We encourage anyone with concerns to get in touch.
Roadworks undertaken by Harrogate Spring Water to create a pipeline from Killinghall to its headquarters led to lengthy delays for motorists around the Curious Cow roundabout earlier this summer.
'The business operates under strict regulatory controls'
We asked Harrogate Spring Water whether it would continue to claim its water is ‘abstracted and bottled at source’ if its Killinghall licence is granted. We also asked when roadworks would resume.
A spokesperson said:
Harrogate Spring Water is undertaking infrastructure work to support the continuity and security of its existing water supply. The project includes several phases which are scheduled to run until February 2026. We reviewed all possible options to minimise disruption to the local community and we have obtained the necessary approvals for the works.
We abstract and bottle our water at source and all claims are verified. Additionally, we confirm that we will remain within our extraction limit of 464 million litres of water per year from local underground sources, in accordance with our existing abstraction licence.
Harrogate Spring Water has a long-standing commitment to responsible water stewardship. The business operates under strict regulatory controls and sustainable extraction limits set by the Environment Agency, with regular monitoring to safeguard local water resources.
The Stray Ferret reported in 2022 that Harrogate Spring Water was investigating new sources of water. You can read more here.
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