Campaigners are to stage a protest at an event held by Harrogate Spring Water this week to discuss its expansion plans.

The company, which is part of French multinational Danone, revealed revised plans this month to expand its bottling plant off Harlow Moor Road. This would involve felling 450 trees planted by schoolchildren in nearby Rotary Wood to combat climate change.

Harrogate Spring Water has said it has a contractual agreement with a landowner to buy two acres of land and plant 1,200 saplings to offset the impact if its planning application is accepted. It claims this would lead to a net biodiversity gain on the site.

About 25 people opposed to the felling of trees attended a Save Rotary Wood event in Harrogate yesterday.

One of the children who planted the trees was among those attending, along with members of Zero Carbon Harrogate and Pinewoods Conservation Group, a North Yorkshire councillor and concerned individuals.

Activist Sarah Gibbs said she would protest in her tree costume at the public consultation event, which takes place at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate from 4pm to 7pm on Thursday.

Yesterday’s meeting also discussed developing a long-term strategy to save the trees and heard concerns about the wider impact development would have on the environment and Harrogate’s reputation.

Among the issues raised were more lorries using the site, whether greater water extraction would affect local water supply and the possibility of further expansion at the site.

Jessica Eaton, of Zero Carbon Harrogate, said:

“Where does it stop? And do we want Harrogate to be associated with plastic bottles? I’m fairly sure most people in Harrogate support us.”

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Arnold Warneken, the Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, said campaigners should focus on valid planning reasons for refusal.

One attendee described direct action as a “last resort” but “not inconceivable”.

Harrogate Spring Water already has outline planning permission, which means the principle of development has been established. It is now preparing a reserved matters planning application, which would agree the details.

Richard Hall, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, said previously the company believed its revised plans addressed previous concerns and “create a way forward together for the local community and for ourselves as a growing Harrogate business”.

He added:

“We would like people to come and see for themselves what we have planned and how we aim to carry it out.”

Anyone who cannot come along on the day will still be able to see the plans and have their say here.

After more than a year of silence, Harrogate Spring Water has revived plans to expand its bottling plant on the edge of town.

Expansion would enable the company, which sells just over 100 million litres of bottled water a year, to grow and would create 50 jobs.

But to achieve this, it would fell 450 trees alongside the company’s headquarters on Harlow Moor Road to create extra space.

Felling trees is always an emotive subject. The fact that they were planted by schoolchildren concerned about climate change and the land will be used to produce more plastic bottles further heightens feelings.

Views on both sides will be aired this week.

Today (Sunday, November 26), the campaign group Save Rotary Wood – Again is holding a meeting at the Friends Meeting House in Harrogate to consider its next moves.

On Thursday, November 30, Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, will hold a public consultation event at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate.

Protestors are unlikely to accept the loss of trees quietly.

The most prominent activist, Sarah Gibbs, stood for hours in a tree costume outside Harrogate Borough Council’s headquarters as part of the protests the last time the issue came before councillors in January 2021.

Activist Sarah Gibbs

On that occasion, councillors rejected Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans after a debate that made national headlines and saw ex-Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury join campaigners in opposing the move.

The company’s message this time is clear — it has listened and is engaging more and doing more to mitigate the loss of trees.

Last time, the woodland offered as compensation wasn’t accessible to the public.

This time, it has a contractual agreement with a landowner to buy a two-acre site and plant 1,200 trees if the application is approved. The site would be open to anyone.

Richard Hall, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, said it also has an agreement with a local charity “that doesn’t want to be named” to plant another 1,500 trees in a “local and accessible site”.

This means the trees lost will be replaced either on a 3 to 1 ratio or 6 to 1 ratio and result in an increase in biodiversity levels, says the company.

The latest plans for the site.

It took Harrogate Spring Water more than a year since an online consultation last year to publicise its latest proposals.

Asked why it took so long, Mr Hall said it had listened to feedback then considered options and negotiated over the land —  which he says “multiple people own it through a family”. Finally, it worked up the plans.

He added:

“Agreements regarding land do take quite a lot of time.”

He won’t reveal the sum but says the value of the land, on which saplings would be planted, is a “significant part of the investment”.

Mr Hall said:

“We are starting to show we are listening to the community and responding to what the community says.”

He cites talks with Pinewoods Conservation Group as further evidence of this.

“We have had detailed discussions about the type of path, the route, the usage, how the paths would join up with other footpaths, That’s the sort of detail we are wanting to discuss with the community.”

Harrogate Spring Water’s headquarters on Harlow Moor Road.

Harrogate Spring Water made a loss during covid but has recovered strongly and is eager to expand.

It already has outline planning permission, which means the principle of development has been established. It is now preparing a reserved matters planning application, which would agree the details.

Mr Hall hopes the application will go before councillors in February. Even if it is approved, work is unlikely to start for two or three years. But he says it will be good for the company and the town.

“We are a local business that is building the name of Harrogate.

“We think we are an asset to the community but also want to be seen as responsible.

“There was some concern about the trees being lost. And we think we’ve addressed that.”

Read more:

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But some people will never believe the loss of a 25-year-old woodland can ever be mitigated, or trust a multinational that employs 100,000 people worldwide, including 80 at Harrogate.

What will the company do if people take direct action if the trees are due to be felled?

“There will always be some objectors and we will have to see at the time what the nature of that objection is.”

After a lengthy hiatus, the debate is about to ramp up again.

Tree campaigner Sarah Gibbs has described Harrogate Spring Water‘s plans to plant 1,200 trees to offset the loss of 450 others as “greenwash”.

The company revealed yesterday it will create a two-acre community woodland if it is granted permission to expand its bottling plant on Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

Expanding the plant would involve felling 450 trees in adjoining Rotary Wood, including some planted by schoolchildren in the 2000s.

But Ms Gibbs, who frequently dons a tree costume as part of her campaign to save Rotary Wood, said “the idea that you can offset this destruction is ludicrous”.

Harrogate Spring Water said its plans, which would create 50 jobs, would see three trees replace each one lost and “deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity levels in the area”. It is also identifying other locations in Harrogate to plant an extra 1,500 trees.

How the site would look.

But Ms Gibbs said:

“A sapling is not adequate compensation for the loss of a mature tree.

“It’s a misconception to say they can be replaced like this. It’s incorrect in terms of the wider impact on ecology.

“Clearly they have not listened to the public. They should leave the trees alone. They were planted by children to avert a climate crisis. This is ludicrous greenwash and I hope North Yorkshire Council steps in and says ‘no’.”

Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, secured outline planning permission in 2017, which means the principle of development has been established.

But it still requires North Yorkshire Council to approve a reserved matters application that agrees the details of the scheme.

A previous application by Harrogate Spring Water was rejected by councillors in January 2021.

Managing director Richard Hall said yesterday the company had listened to concerns because the proposed new woodland would, unlike previous plans, be open to the public.

But Ms Gibbs said:

“26,000 single-use plastic bottles an hour, shipped globally. That’s what they produce now. If this development goes ahead this number will increase. Global shipment means lorries, planes will increase, CO2 will increase, water extraction will increase. The only thing that will increase that they care about, is profit margins.

“Who’s to say years down the line they won’t want to expand again and destroy more of our beautiful pinewoods, and planet.

“We need less plastic. We need to protect our existing woodland.”

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Harrogate Spring Water has said it is still “exploring options” over the planned expansion of its bottling plant — almost a year on from a public consultation.

The French-owned company plans to fell trees in Rotary Wood, including some planted by schoolchildren in the 2000s, to expand its site on Harlow Moor Road.

Amid environmental concerns over the use of plastics and the loss of trees, the company held a consultation event at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate on July 13 last year.

It said afterwards it was “working on defining the plans” and would “publicly share our final plans ahead of submitting our application to Harrogate Borough Council”.

But 11 months on, it has yet to reveal its plans. Harrogate Borough Council was abolished on March 31 and replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

Asked for an update, a spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water said:

“We are working hard exploring options to address the points raised during the course of our consultation process last year on plans to expand our production site.

“It is because we are determined to create a solution which tackles those points and delivers for the people of Harrogate, for the town and for Harrogate Spring Water that we are taking time to get it right.

“As soon as we are able to, we will share the updated scheme with the public – we plan to host a public drop-in exhibition, as well as engage with key local groups.

“We are keen to do this in as timely a manner as we can and while we are still not in a position to put a precise date on when this will take place, as soon as this situation changes, we will let everyone know.”

The firm, which is part of Danone, has had outline planning permission to expand its factory next to the Pinewoods since 2017. This means the principle of development has been established but the details have not.

Plans to extend the site by 40% were refused by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee in January 2021.

Harrogate Spring Water subsequently revealed it planned to submit further plans on how it intended to develop the site, which led to last year’s consultation. But nothing has yet transpired.

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Police have launched an investigation after trespassers broke into Harrogate Spring Water‘s headquarters last night.

A source told the Stray Ferret protesters attempted to enter the building on Harlow Moor Road and “antagonised staff”. They added those responsible wore GoPro cameras and flew a drone over the site.

However, nobody appears to have claimed responsibility for the incident and no footage has emerged.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said today:

“North Yorkshire Police were contacted yesterday evening to reports of people trespassing on a business premises on Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

“The incident had occurred prior to the report being made and an investigation is now underway.

“Anyone with any information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police by calling 101, select option 1 and ask for the Force Control Room. Please quote reference number 12230099981 when passing information.”

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A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water said:

“We cannot comment at this time since the incident is currently being looked into by police.

“We can confirm that no-one was injured during the incident and no damage has been made to the site.”

Harrogate Spring Water said in March it was “reviewing plans” to expand its bottling plant at its headquarters off Harlow Moor Road, in the Pinewoods.

The plans, which would involve felling trees in a public woodland planted by schoolchildren, have proved controversial.

It is not known whether yesterday’s incident was related to this.

Activist Sarah Gibbs has pledged to step-up the campaign to save Harrogate’s Rotary Wood after more than 100 people took part in the latest event.

Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by French firm Danone, has revived 2017 plans to fell trees in Rotary Wood so it can expand its bottling plant.

Ms Gibbs has been at the forefront of the campaign to persuade councillors to reject the application when it comes before Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee.

She has organised numerous protests and stunts, often while dressed as a tree, to raise awareness of the issue.

The start of the walk to Rotary Wood. Pic credit: Edward Lee @edfclee

Last weekend’s walk to Rotary Wood was perhaps the most popular yet, attracting local people as well as delegates in Harrogate for the Green Party autumn conference.

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Among those taking part was 19-year-old Lucy Turner, who travelled from Manchester, where she attends university. She said:

“I’m from Harrogate and planted the trees here with Western Primary School when I was seven years old. Rotary Wood is extremely valuable to me.

“Expanding a company that produces plastic bottles is already extremely damaging to the environment and the fact that in doing so the Rotary Wood would be destroyed exacerbates the carelessness of this proposal, especially given the climate crisis we are currently battling.”

Pic credit: Edward Lee @edfclee

Neil Hind, chair of Pinewoods Conservation Group, said:

“We know the expansion plans remain a concern for the majority with the potential loss of acres of woodland and community green space.”

Pic credit: Edward Lee @edfclee

Ms Gibbs said the “fantastic turn-out was a reminder that these woods really do matter to so many people” and she feels the campaign is gathering momentum.

She said:

“Since our walk on Sunday there has been new and renewed interest and enthusiasm to save Rotary Wood.

“Members of the community have come forward to offer their support and so we plan to have discussions together regarding next steps asap.

“This is community in action so everybody’s input is welcome and valued.

“We envision future events and actions to be fun, creative, and educational. Most importantly, we hope to offer a variety of approaches to be as inclusive and engaging as possible.”

It is not known when Harrogate Spring Water’s planning application will come before the council’s planning committee.

Harrogate residents remain unconvinced about Harrogate Spring Water‘s plans to fell trees in Rotary Wood to expand its bottling plant.

The company, which is now owned by the French firm Danone, held a three-hour consultation event yesterday at Harrogate’s Crown Hotel.

It was a chance for people to make suggestions on the design and landscaping of the proposed extension. The company said the responses would influence its final design.

Since 2017, it has had outline planning permission to expand its production facilities on its site on Harlow Moor Road that would involve felling trees.

It is now putting together a ‘reserved matters’ application which will detail how the new building will look, how the surrounding area will be landscaped and crucially, where new trees will be be replanted.

The Stray Ferret went along to speak to attendees and representatives of Danone, including Harrogate Spring Water’s managing director Richard Hall.

Passionate views

Throughout the evening there was a slow trickle of curious people looking at display boards that offered background on the plans and reasons why the company feels it needs to expand. The boards are available to view online here.

Some saw the event as a chance to passionately tell Mr Hall what they feel are the wrongs of the company, including the merits of plastic bottles.

Sarah Gibbs has been a long-term campaigner against the expansion and often dons her trademark tree costume. She said:

“My stance is we are in a climate emergency. We need to start acting like it. Why do we need bottled water?”.

Rotary Wood

Rebecca Maunder campaigns for the environment in the Harlow Hill area.

She believes it’s not a certainty that the trees will be lost if a case can be made that any replacement tree planting proposals are insufficient.

She suggested the company should instead look to expand its premises in different ways.

“They should build it on their car park.”

Ms Maunder said Rotary Wood “belongs to all of us” and is worried the business will look to further encroach into the woodland in the future.

She added:

“In three years they might want more space.”

How the site currently looks from above.

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Complex issues

When Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee considered the company’s last bid to expand in January 2021, it was for some, a simple battle between the profits of a private business and the environment.

Richard Hall said to frame the debate in these terms is unfair and is “more complex” than what is sometimes presented.

When asked if he is personally concerned about the effects of climate change. He said:

“I think that everyone is thinking about the climate. I’d like to behave in a way that takes into account the future”.

Mr Hall confirmed the company still wants to plant trees in a private field behind RHS Harlow Carr, as it proposed last time, but this is “not enough” and it wants to plant more.

Mr Hall said they have been in talks with some landowners but are yet to come to any agreements.

Last time many objectors, including local climate scientist Professor Piers Forster, were unhappy that the felled trees would be replaced elsewhere with saplings, which are much less effective at soaking up CO2 emissions.

Mr Hall said the company is looking into how the new trees can ensure a “biodiversity net gain”.

On Rebecca Maunder’s car park suggestion, Mr Hall said it was not possible due to a sustainable drainage system underneath.

Sadness

Terry Knowles is a member of Rotary Club of Harrogate and chaired the group’s environmental committee from 2000 until 2015.

Mr Knowles is a key reason the trees were planted there in the first place, which began in 2005 and took around four years.

Terry Knowles inspecting the boards

Speaking in a personal capacity, he said he felt sadness that some trees that he planted with local schoolchildren, who are now adults, could be lost.

He said:

“Bottled water is not an environmental product. The last permission was in 2017 and a lot has changed since then.”

Environmental campaigners held a demonstration in Valley Gardens at the weekend to raise awareness of the threat to Harrogate’s Rotary Wood.

Harrogate Spring Water, which is owned by French firm Danone, has revived 2017 plans to fell trees in Rotary Woods so it can expand its bottling plant.

The company’s plans would involve removing a smaller area of woodland than it proposed in a failed planning application last year.

But campaigners are still concerned about the loss of trees in part of the Pinewoods that was planted by children in 2005 to help tackle climate change.

Harrogate forest school teacher Sarah Gibbs donned her tree costume to join fellow activists during Saturday’s four-hour gathering, which aimed to tell people about Rotary Wood and the company’s expansion plans. She said:

“This issue has really touched my heart. I’m a born and bred Harrogate girl as well as a teacher and knowing children planted this wood to tackle climate change, to say it’s OK to destroy it would send out a terrible message.

“Surely after lockdown we are more aware of the value of green space to the environment and to mental health.”

Rebecca Maunder, who also took part in the protest, said:

“The aim today is to raise awareness that this is on the agenda again. A lot of people still don’t realise it is.

“Harrogate Spring Water wants to have a consultation with local people so they need to be informed about what’s going on.”

Graham Dixon, who was also present, said:

“The best way to get people to care about what’s happening is to come out and tell them.”

‘Net biodiversity gain’

Harrogate Spring Water has said it wants to achieve “net biodiversity gain” for the site, carry out a compensatory tree planting scheme and will make the remaining part of Rotary Wood more accessible to the public.

It is currently consulting on its plans before submitting a formal reserved matters planning application to Harrogate Borough Council. It says the expansion would create 30 jobs.

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, said previously:

“We have a shared interest in driving prosperity for the town and creating a sustainable future for a key business that takes the Harrogate name around the UK and the world, and we hope that this process will allow us to come to a resolution which addresses people’s concerns and the town’s aspirations.”

Few local chief executives face a trickier task in the months ahead than the one confronting the new man in charge of Harrogate Spring Water.

Richard Hall has to convince a sceptical public and councillors that they should support plans to fell trees in the Pinewoods so the company can expand its factory and produce more plastic bottles.

Trees, plastic and a climate crisis are a volatile mix, as shown last year when more than 400 people objected to a larger expansion scheme put forward by the company that was ultimately rejected.

The campaign attracted national media coverage and a high profile champion in TV presenter Julia Bradbury.

Mr Hall hopes the outcome will be different this time and is keen to strike a conciliatory tone as the company prepares to consult on its revised plans before submitting a planning application.

He says:

“Expansion plans can often be challenged by local communities and that’s something that is not unusual per se, but we could have handled it better and we could have consulted better with the local community so there’s definitely a lesson to learn for us.

“We’ve got an opportunity to be much more open. There is an opportunity for people to come and talk to us, look at the plan and give us feedback.”

Richard Hall, at the company’s Harrogate factory.

Mr Hall is also keen to frame the debate in a wider context than trees versus plastic.

“It’s not really a question of how water is packaged — it’s a question of how food and other beverages are packaged. So if we are asked what are we doing to reduce the impact of packaging, I’d be very happy to respond to that because we are doing significant things.”

He mentions several environmental initiatives Harrogate Spring Water supports and says the main issue is recycling rates. Harrogate Spring Water’s bottles are made using 50% recycled plastic and glass and Mr Hall says this would increase if more recycled products were available.

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Water, he says, is “the healthiest beverage” and the company’s national reputation should be a source of local pride, not to mention the fact that expansion would create 30 jobs.

Packaging, he adds, is a separate debate. But he knows the argument will be tough.

“I accept there will be some discussion around it. It’s a hot topic. People are passionate about the climate. I just hope we get a balanced debate.”

New era

Mr Hall’s appointment marks a new era at Harrogate Spring Water, which can produce 36,000 bottles of 500 millilitre water per hour at its factory.

The company was bought two years ago by French multinational Danone but former managing director James Cain, who had been in charge for 15 years, continued to lead the business until Mr Hall arrived. Mr Cain is now a minority shareholder.

The takeover and expansion plans haven’t been the only issues to contend with lately.

Covid hit hard. According to Harrogate Spring Water’s latest annual accounts, gross profit for the year ending March 31, 2020, was £8.3m but crashed to £1.9m for the nine months to December 31, 2020 due to the closure of many places that sell bottled water, such as convenience stores, hotels, airports and train stations.

Mr Hall says business is now “recovering to pre-covid levels”.

Brexit, he says, impacted the company “a little bit” but nowhere near as much as covid. Inflation is a major concern now.

The company has stopped exporting water to Russia since the Ukraine war started but overseas sales account for only a fraction of business.

Last year the business withdrew its sponsorship of Yorkshire County Cricket Club amid the club’s racism row and has not renewed it, but it continues to be the official water of Royal Ascot.

Despite its national reputation, Mr Hall describes Harrogate Spring Water, which employs 78 staff, as a “small, local brand” compared with international brands like Volvic, and he doesn’t see that changing.

“We will look at expansion plans in the UK and Ireland. There’s lots of space to grow.”

Harrogate, he says, should be proud of its spa heritage.

“There are not many towns in the UK that can talk about their spa heritage. Harrogate is the top one. The water you find here is delicious.”

Danone all his life

Mr Hall, a keen runner, joined Danone in Tokyo a month after finishing university in Japan. He has remained with the company since. He is fluent in Japanese, where he lived for 25 years and has a Japanese wife.

As vice-president of Danone’s UK and Ireland business, his remit extends far beyond Harrogate Spring Water’s factory on Harlow Moor Road (pictured below).

Mr Hall lives in Oxford and expects to visit Harrogate twice a month.

His credentials are impeccable, having worked on other Danone water brands Evian and Volvic, as well as Yakult.

Being part of Danone, he says, brings “access to expertise and knowledge” but he constantly stresses the importance of the company retaining the local feel nurtured by the Cains. A new strategic plan is being created.

“The Cain family did a great job in building the brand. I want to look after it and grow it further. We are talking about a premium brand; we are not talking about a mass market brand.”

But how much the company grows will depend largely on whether its planning application to expand by two acres in the Pinewoods is successful.

It plans to revive a 2017 application that was granted outline permission, which means the principle of development is already established but the final details are not.

A banner protest this month.

Having outline permission will make the process easier but little is likely to be straightforward in such emotional terrain. Last year, protestor Sarah Gibbs stood outside the council offices dressed as a tree, and she has been back putting up banners around the town, saying there can be no mitigation for the loss of woodland.

Mr Hall reiterates he welcomes debate and that the company will listen. Would he talk to Julia Bradbury? He looks at his PR adviser who says he can’t see why not.

There is likely to be plenty of talking and listening before councillors decide whether the plant can be extended. Mr Hall will have to call on all his skill, expertise and years of experience if the company is to secure the outcome it wants.

Black Sheep Brewery in Masham has secured a major deal with Leeds-based airline Jet2.com.

Black Sheep Ale will be available in a 330ml can on all the airline’s flights from its 10 UK bases from May 1.

Jet2.com is the UK’s third largest airline.

Black Sheep Ale is one of the brewery’s best loved beers.  It was the first beer to be bottled at Black Sheep and is nationally available in 500ml bottle.

Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery, said:

“We’re incredibly proud of this agreement with Jet2.com to feature Black Sheep Ale on flights to and from the UK, which will introduce one of Yorkshire’s best exports to new audiences.

“This is a great collaboration between two Yorkshire companies that will also offer international visitors to Britain a taste of our wonderful county before they touch down in the UK.”

Managing director at Harrogate Spring Water steps down

After 15 years at the helm, James Cain has announced he will be stepping down as managing director of Harrogate Spring Water.

French firm Danone acquired Harrogate Spring Water two years ago and Mr Cain said “it is now the right time for me to hand over the baton”.

Mr Cain will remain a minority shareholder alongside the rest of the Cain family, he said:

“During my time with Harrogate Spring Water, I have been immensely proud of the brands that we have created as well as the people who have been a part of our journey, helping to build a business and continue a legacy in revitalising the town’s illustrious spa heritage.”

Mr Cain is to be replaced by Richard Hall, who is currently a vice president within Danone’s UK & Ireland business. He will take on the role from May 3.

Richard Hall

Mr Hall said:

“Harrogate Spring Water is a great brand with great heritage and is a very important part of Danone’s UK water business. It will be my privilege to lead the operation as we look to grow further and take the Harrogate Spring Water brand to more venues and consumers in 2022.”