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27
Oct
New poll shows strong local opposition to Harrogate Spring Water expansion
Campaigners against the expansion of Harrogate Spring Water’s bottling plant have revealed the results of a new independent survey showing strong local opposition to the project.
The survey has found that 86% of Harrogate residents disagree or strongly disagree with the proposed bottling plant expansion.
The new poll counters a survey published by Harrogate Spring Water last week, which appeared to show strong local support. That poll suggested that 71% of local residents had a “positive impression” of its expansion plans – a claim also promoted by the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
But many close to the case questioned it, as it appeared to contradict other indicators of local feeling. They also queried the methodology used, not least because only 200 people were questioned for the poll.
The results of the new poll are more in line with feedback submitted by the public in response to the planning application, which received 1,068 objections and just 11 expressions of support.
Part of the Pinewoods, Rotary Wood was planted 20 years ago by local schoolchildren.
The new online survey also highlights local concern over the loss of Rotary Wood, a community-planted woodland recognised as an Asset of Community Value, and frustration that basic environmental evidence – including the required lighting and noise assessments – is still missing from the application.
The survey was conducted by Suffrago and completed by almost 500 residents within 24 hours. It can be viewed here.
A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group, which has been campaigning against the expansion, said:
This new independent survey confirms what the community has been saying for years – local people do not support this destructive and legally questionable expansion.
The claim of ‘strong local backing’ simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Our residents value Rotary Wood and Harrogate’s green spaces far more than they value more lorries, noise, and lost biodiversity.
With key surveys still missing and planning conditions unmet, this application should not even be on the table.
Pinewoods Conservation Group and Suffrago are urging North Yorkshire Council to take the findings of the new poll seriously and to ensure transparency, legality, and community representation in any final decision.
They are being backed by Tom Gordon, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, who has written to Harrogate Spring Water’s managing director, Richard Hall, calling for full transparency over how the company’s survey was conducted.
There’s a huge gap between what Harrogate Spring Water’s survey claims and what local residents are actually saying.
The company says 71% support their expansion plans – but our independent, neutral survey shows more than 85% are opposed. That’s not a small difference. It’s a complete mismatch.
I’ve written to the managing director to demand full transparency: the wording of their questions, how the survey was conducted, and where respondents live. Until this information is shared, their figures cannot be trusted.
Local people deserve the truth – not spin.
Tom Gordon MP
The Stray Ferret contacted Harrogate Spring Water last Tuesday to ask for more details of the methodology used by Censuswide, the PR polling firm it engaged, including when the poll was conducted, where respondents live, and the wording of the questions.
A spokesperson said they needed to “confirm some of the finer details” with Censuswide, and would respond “as soon as we have more clarity”. Nearly a week later, we have still heard nothing.
Mr Gordon added:
This isn’t about being for or against a business – it’s about honesty, transparency, and respecting local voices. Harrogate Spring Water must now publish the full details of their survey so the public can judge its credibility for themselves.
Harrogate Spring Water's reserved matters planning application will be the only item on the agenda when the council's Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Planning Committee meets at 2pm tomorrow (October 28) to decide the matter.
The Stray Ferret will be covering the meeting as it happens, live from Harrogate Civic Centre.
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