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27
Aug
Lawyers to review Harrogate Spring Water expansion plans
Conservationists are raising funds to pay environmental lawyers to review Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans.
Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, wants to expand its bottling factory at Harlow Moor Road.
It has submitted plans to fell 500 trees in a section of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood to facilitate the expansion.
Pinewoods Conservation Group and campaigner Sarah Gibbs, who has been at the forefront of the battle to save the trees, have launched an online fundraising appeal to raise £4,000 to pay Richard Buxton Solicitors to assess the planning documents.
Pinewoods Conservation Group has yet to submit its response to North Yorkshire Council’s consultation on the proposed expansion because it feels key information is still missing.
The legal firm has agreed to review its concerns at a reduced cost before the council’s planning committee adjudicates on the plans, which could happen next month.
A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group said:
This is likely the final chance to protect our Pinewoods from irreversible damage. A professional legal review is vital to hold Harrogate Spring Water’s plans to account – but we cannot do it without public support. Every donation, no matter how small, will help us stand up for our community and safeguard this precious woodland for future generations.
The fundraising appeal, which is being organised by Ms Gibbs, had raised £2,085 by the time of publication.
She said: “The negative implications this development poses on a local and global scale are not to be ignored during the current climate emergency.”
Harrogate Spring Water has said the scheme will create 50 jobs and boost the local economy and a proposed community woodland, planted nearby, would compensate for the loss of trees.
Managing director Richard Hall previously said:
Our goal is to leave behind something truly positive – a flourishing public woodland and six times more trees planted than removed. I believe that this is a best-in-class plan to deliver business growth while minimising environmental impact.
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