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18

Apr

Last Updated: 18/04/2026
Politics
Politics

GALLERY: Campaigners jubilant after Harrogate Spring Water plans refused

by Flora Grafton

| 18 Apr, 2026
Comment

0

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It was a day of mixed emotions at Harrogate’s Civic Centre yesterday (April 17).

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee refused Harrogate Spring Water’s bottling plant expansion plans, despite it being recommended for approval by council officials.

For those who have spent years campaigning against the proposal, which would involve hundreds of trees being felled to make way for the extension, there were huge celebrations.

But for the company, which is part of French multinational Danone and has spent around 10 years trying to get its plans approved, the rejection was another blow.

Despite Harrogate Spring Water promising to plant almost 3,000 new trees to mitigate the loss of the woodland, the application has proven to be one of the most controversial in recent years.

You can read the Stray Ferret's coverage of yesterday's events here and here, and we’ve also compiled the picture gallery below capturing some of the action from a dramatic day.   

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Protesters drove a sign through the town ahead of the meeting.
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Campaigners eagerly awaited the outcome...
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Cllrs Graham Dixon, Josie Caven and Josy Thompson, Lib Dem councillors on Harrogate Town Council.
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Sarah Gibbs, of Save Rotary Wood.
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Richard Hall, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water.
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StarRECAP: Harrogate Spring Water fails in expansion bidStarCouncillors refuse controversial Harrogate Spring Water expansionStarHarrogate Spring Water issues statement amid rumours of appeal