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19
Aug
'Once it's gone, it's gone': Councillors issue plea over Rotary Wood as decision looms
Councillors have issued a plea to save Harrogate’s Rotary Wood as a decision over a bottling plant expansion looms.
Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by French multinational Danone, wants to fell about 500 trees at the rear of its site on Harlow Moor Road as part of its proposal.
The company received outline planning permission to expand in 2017, which means the principle of development has been established.
However, the proposals have received more than 1,000 objections amid concern over the loss of trees and community space.
Now, Cllr Mike Schofield, independent councillor for Harlow and St Georges division, and Cllr Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn on North Yorkshire Council, have raised concern over the potential loss of Rotary Wood.
Cllr Schofield, who recently joined an alliance with the Greens on the council, said:
This is our community space that is well-used. It’s our beating heart, it’s our healthy lungs. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. We need to consider this application very carefully.
Meanwhile, Cllr Warneken said:
Do we really want to cut down a wood that our community planted only 20 years ago, and is a much-loved and well-used amenity?
Can we really trade our trees for a business to take more of our water? The committee can’t ask those questions, because outline permission has been granted. But they can ask: Can the council be sure that this is legally sound, when the biodiversity picture has been so disjointed?
Harrogate Spring Water submitted revised plans over its bottling plant to the council in May.
The latest plans suggest planting 491 trees on two acres of land behind its current site.
The company's headquarters on Harlow Moor Road.
This is considerably fewer than the 1,500 previously suggested — however, the company said this was to comply with a request from the council’s arboriculturist to give the new woodland the best chance to flourish.
Harrogate Spring Water also said it had increased the number of trees to be planted on other sites around Harrogate from 1,500 to 2,500 “to compensate for the change and ensure the commitments made are still met”.
It says the expanded factory would provide jobs and boost the local economy.
The company received outline planning permission to expand in 2017, but it cannot proceed until its current reserved matters application, which deals with appearance, size and landscaping, is approved by the council.
A previous reserved matters application was rejected in 2021 after a campaign fronted by TV star Julia Bradbury.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the latest proposal at a later date.
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