Greens petition against Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plans

The Harrogate and District Green Party has started a petition opposing Harrogate Spring Water’s plans to extend its bottling plant in the Pinewoods.

Harrogate Borough Council will next month consider an application by the water company to expand its existing site from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.

Rebecca Maunder, a Green Party member and Pinewoods dog walker, said people were “shocked and dismayed” at the prospect of trees being felled.

Her petition to save Rotary Wood, which has so far generated more than 700 signatures since it began at the end of last week, says the proposal would destroy acres of woodland planted by children, damage wildlife and biodiversity and lead to the creation of more plastic bottles.

The petition adds:

“Harrogate district has 8% woodland cover compared to a national average of 12% and a European average of 36%.”

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Harrogate Spring Water, which was bought last year by multinational firm Danone, has had outline planning permission since 2016 to expand to the west of its existing site.

The company is due to consult online with interested parties next week to discuss the proposal.

Nicky Cain, brand manager for Harrogate Spring Water, said it was “working towards presenting our application to the planning committee on December 8”. She added:

“The environmental aspects of our application remain top of our agenda and shall ensure any ecological impact is offset and provide commitment towards a local planting scheme.

“We shall continue to engage with stakeholders, both prior to planning and ahead of any future reserved matters scheme, providing opportunities to hear their views on planting and landscaping.”

The council has received more than 300 letters of objection since the plans were submitted, including from the Rotary Club of Harrogate, the Pinewoods Conservation Group and Harrogate Civic Society.

A report from the council’s arboricultural manager, Paul Casey, said the loss of 2.8 acres of woodland floor would remove the “green corridor” link between the north and south of the site. He said:

“There are no proposals put forward that would mitigate for the loss of this woodland.”

 

 

Bottling plant plans for Pinewoods to be decided in December

Councillors will meet in December to consider Harrogate Spring Water’s proposals to extend its bottling plant in the Pinewoods.

The water company, which was bought out last year by multinational firm Danone, has had outline planning permission since 2016 to expand to the west of its existing site.

Harrogate Borough Council confirmed to the Stray Ferret that the planning committee will meet next month to consider an application to change the footprint of the new building, which the company wants to increase from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares.

The plans would also remove public woodland in Rotary Wood, planted by local families to celebrate the organisation’s centenary.

A report from the council’s arboricultural manager, Paul Casey, said the loss of 2.8 acres of woodland floor would remove the “green corridor” link between the north and south of the site. He said:

“There are no proposals put forward that would mitigate for the loss of this woodland.

“In essence an area equal in size and appropriateness for woodland planting would need to be identified and allocated, preferably currently attached in some way to the Pinewoods, so as to meet any on-going objectives in terms of the following non-exhaustive list: biodiversity; woodland potential; carbon capture/sequestration potential; climate change and climate emergency objectives; flood alleviation benefits to match what is being lost; public use and benefits.”

More than 300 letters of objection have been sent to the council since the plans were submitted, including from the Rotary Club of Harrogate, the Pinewoods Conservation Group and Harrogate Civic Society.

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If the planning committee gives the plans the green light in December, another hearing at a future date will consider a separate application to confirm details of the new building, including its appearance and landscaping. The plans include planting some new trees near the bottling plant as well as a “living wall” to the north of the new extension.

In August, Nicky Cain, brand manager at Harrogate Spring Water, told the Stray Ferret the company planned to consult with local groups on the proposals but said the process had been delayed due to coronavirus. However, the Harrogate and District Green Party said the consultation had still not taken place.

Harrogate Spring Water has been contacted for a comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

To view the full details of the planning application, visit the planning pages of Harrogate Borough Council’s website and use reference 19/05245/DVCMAJ.

Council to appoint external consultant for Harlow Nurseries housing

Harrogate Borough Council wants to dip into its reserves to pay for an external consultant who would help develop three council-owned sites, including at Harlow Nurseries next to the Pinewoods where 40 homes are mooted.

A report is due to go before HBC’s cabinet on Wednesday that says the consultant would explore “quality place-making” on the sites and would assess options for how they could deliver the housing and employment needs of the district. The report does not say how much the external consultant would cost.

The three sites are at Harlow Nurseries, Dragon Road car park and land south of Almsford Bridge in Pannal. They have all been designated within the council’s Local Plan, which says where development will happen in the district over the next 14 years.

Harlow Nurseries sells council plants, pots and compost to the public, but would be relocated to another location if the housing went ahead.

Earlier this year, Harrogate Borough Council asked residents their views about Harlow Nurseries, with one respondent saying “it would be a very, very sad day if the site was sold off for housing.”

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At Harlow Nurseries, a condition of development is that it must provide “appropriate mitigation and compensation” to reduce any adverse environmental impacts on the Pinewoods, which is 96 acres of council-owned woodland adjacent to the site.

A spokesperson for the Pinewoods Conservation Group told the Stray Ferret:

“The development of the Nursery site adjacent to The Pinewoods was inevitable after its inclusion in the recently approved local plan. This will see further enclosure of The Pinewoods and the likely loss of many trees within the nursery site if the 40 houses are built. It is also a key access point for many residents and visitors that could be at risk as part of any major development.

“This is one the group will monitor over the next year and we can only hope that the council, and its appointed consultant, will look to engage with us on the site’s future.”

Green Party to protest against water firm’s Pinewoods expansion

Members of Harrogate Green Party will walk up Otley Road at 6pm this evening handing out leaflets about Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans into the Pinewoods.

The water company, which was bought out last year by multinational firm Danone, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to extend its bottling plant into Rotary Wood, removing 4 acres of public woodland.

The company already has outline planning permission from HBC to extend its bottling plant into the Pinewoods — but in 2019 they submitted fresh plans that are 40% larger than the original proposal.

The Green Party claims the company has broken a promise to consult with them on landscaping for the updated proposal, which they say does not mitigate for the loss of woodland, which was a condition of the outline planning permission.

As part of the plans, Harrogate Spring Water wants to plant some new trees to the left of the bottling plant.

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Harrogate Green Party campaigner Rebecca Maunder said Harrogate Spring Water is “trying to fob the community off” with the new trees as a replacement for the “rich and diverse” woodland that will be lost.

Nicky Cain, brand manager at Harrogate Spring Water, told the Stray Ferret that the company still plans to consult with local groups but the process has been delayed due to coronavirus.

She said:

“We haven’t yet submitted the revised landscaping details and therefore haven’t yet reached the next phase of consultation. To reassure, there has been no short-cutting of the process or withdrawal of our offer of involvement; in fact quite the opposite – it has simply been a consequence of delays in the planning process due to the impact of COVID since our last meeting.

“The initial landscaping proposals were always subject to change following further ecological work and consultation. The results of the ecological study are still being worked upon, which shall in turn determine our obligations to be addressed as part of the landscaping detail. We hope this shall be ready by the end of September.

“At this stage – and as promised at our meetings with the Green Party, we shall continue to look forward to inviting the Green Party to consult and advise on the landscaping, to help ensure we best meet our responsibilities.”

Littering in the Pinewoods ‘a continual problem’

Littering in the Pinewoods is still a problem and has increased since lockdown was eased, according to a local conservation group.

The Pinewoods Conservation Group said the relaxation of restrictions has resulted in large gatherings coming to the woods and leaving rubbish behind.

It said volunteers are often out cleaning up the litter, but added that this “should not be necessary”.

The news follows similar complaints made about large gatherings on the Stray in June.

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Empty beer cans, pizza boxes and laughing gas canisters were left overnight in what was described as the “biggest mess for six years”.

It comes as a Freedom of Information request by Clean For Britain, a campaign to reduce litter and fly tipping, found that Harrogate Borough Council handed out no fines for littering in 2018/19.

Rubbish left on the Stray following a large gathering in June.

Pinewoods Conservation group called on the borough council to take the matter seriously.

A spokesperson for the group said:

“Litter in the Pinewoods is a continual problem and did increase coming out of lockdown. 

“Our volunteers and supporters do an amazing job at keeping the litter down but really shouldn’t be necessary. We know there is no real enforcement even when there are large groups congregating and it is obvious who is generating the litter.

“It is also the case that, in the woods, litter then leads to more serious damage and anti-social behaviour. It is time that the council started to take its enforcement responsibilities seriously.”

A spokesperson for the borough council said:

“Thankfully, by and large, there is very little litter in the Harrogate district. Where there have been isolated issues, such as on the Stray, our parks and environmental services team have worked tirelessly to have it cleared as quickly as possible.

“We have also added signage and additional bins/collections to remind people to be respectful of the beautiful surroundings we have in the district.