Harrogate Spring Water investigating new water sources on council land

Harrogate Borough Council granted permission for Harrogate Spring Water to test the council’s borehole at its horticultural nursery on Harlow Hill, documents reveal — so the company could explore a potential new water source. 

The Stray Ferret has obtained emails between the company and the council via a freedom of information request. They reveal Harrogate Spring Water tested the borehole in May this year and is continuing to investigate groundwater in the area.

Boreholes are used to extract water from the ground. Harrogate Spring Water bottles water from a bore hole at its headquarters on Harlow Moor Road, on land owned by the council and leased to the company.

Much of the land surrounding the facility, including the Pinewoods and Harlow Hill nursery, is also owned by the council.

As part of the firm’s lease agreement with the council, water is extracted from two boreholes on the Harlow Moor Road site. There is a third borehole on Pennypot Bridge.

The council grows its floral displays at Harlow Hill nursery and sells plants, pots and compost to the public there, although it plans to sell the site for housing and move the nursery elsewhere. It also has a on-site borehole that it uses to water plants.

Investigations in the area

Harrogate Spring Water is set to submit fresh plans to increase the size of its bottling plant within the next few months and emails suggest the company may also be looking for new sources of water to help the company expand.

An email from Harrogate Spring Water to the council, dated June 6, reveals the council gave the company permission to perform “some testing work” on its borehole at Harlow Hill nursery in the previous month.

However, it says the results “weren’t what Harrogate Spring were looking for”.

Email from Harrogate Spring Water to Harrogate Borough Council on June 6

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The email continues to say the company would like to survey the land around Harlow Moor Road to find out “where the best potential for water might be and how the water is working”.

Follow-up emails between two council officers, whose names were redacted, query if these tests are to identify new water sources.

A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group, the charity that looks after the Pinewoods, said the testing of boreholes in the area was a “major concern”.

They said the charity had received reports from visitors of investigative works taking place in the Pinewoods recently, adding:

“We’ve had assurances before around no further expansion plans but confirmation that more boreholes are being investigated around the Pinewoods area is a major concern for us.

“Several visitors reported seeing investigative works happening within the Pinewoods itself recently, without any notice of this from either Harrogate Spring Water or Harrogate council.

“We would encourage all parties to be transparent on their longer terms plans and involve the relevant stakeholders as required.”

Harrogate Spring Water’s statement

A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water confirmed it had performed testing at the council borehole at Harlow Nurseries. It said this was to “understand the potential availability of water” from beneath the ground.

They said it is also exploring the land around Harlow Moor Road and the Pinewoods for similar reasons.

They described this as a “routine part” of the management of their water sources.

The spokesperson also said the company had “no immediate plans” for a new borehole, but that if “an opportunity to enhance our water security arose”, they would consider it.

The full statement is below:

“Over the summer, we have been doing a geophysical survey of parts of the land to the rear of our facility in order to create a 3D map of its geology.

“The reason for the survey is to better understand the bedrock geology in the area as part of our aquifer management and to better understand the potential water capability of the aquifer. This is a routine part of the responsible management of our water source, alongside work such as weekly monitoring of borehole performance via depth and meter readings and weekly rainfall recording.

“We work with a local family-run company that helps us manage our boreholes and explore the areas around Harrogate for new sustainable sources of high-quality water, which is a prudent part of responsible water management.

“We have no immediate plans for a new borehole, but if an opportunity to enhance our water security arose, and a landowner showed an interest in having us drill on their land, we would work with that landowner and the Environment Agency to ensure that any source was 100% sustainable, in compliance with the regulatory regime.

“The boreholes which we use take up only a few square metres of land, which is normally in a corner of a field or hidden by a screen of shrubs or trees.”

Harrogate Spring Water ‘finalising’ latest expansion plans

Harrogate Spring Water has said it is finalising the latest expansion plans for its bottled water plant – more than a year and half after previous proposals were rejected following widespread opposition in the town.

The firm held a consultation on plans for its Rotary Wood site this summer and said it would now provide a further update “in the coming weeks”.

That same phrase was used by the Danone-owned company in January 2021 when it said new designs would be revealed “in the coming weeks” after its larger expansion plans were refused by Harrogate Borough Council.

Twenty months on, there is no new application from the firm.

Harrogate Spring Water was first granted outline permission to expand in 2017, however it failed to get approval for final designs which were 40% larger than original plans and would have seen more trees chopped down at Rotary Wood which was planted by children 16 years ago.

The company later announced it would revert back to its original plans and has now released a new statement this week.

A company spokesperson said:

“We started our public consultation process in June because it was important for us to ensure that, as we look to grow, create further job opportunities and continue to support the local and regional economy, we listen to the local community.

“This process has included individual meetings with community stakeholder groups as well as an open public consultation event, allowing people to have their say on the design and landscaping of the proposed extension and surrounding land.

“We have taken these views on board as we work towards finalising our plans for the reserved matters application.

“We anticipate providing a further update on this matter in the coming weeks.”

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More than 400 objections were lodged against the larger expansion plans which councillors claimed put “profit and plastic before impact on the environment” as they voted for refusal in January 2021.

Harrogate Spring Water previously made a commitment to replace felled trees at a rate of two to one and has since said it is looking at ways to “achieve net biodiversity gain” at its site.

Harrogate Spring Water

Harrogate Spring Water’s headquarters.

It also said the expansion would create 30 jobs and that there is “potential” to make Rotary Wood more accessible to the public.

Speaking earlier this year, the company’s managing director Richard Hall said:

“We feel it is vital for us as a business to take our environmental responsibilities seriously.

“We also want to work in partnership with the local community on this.

“We want them to help shape the woodland into the resource which they would like to see and ensure our extension blends in as well as it can into the surrounding area.”

Harrogate district’s floral displays fall victim to hosepipe ban

The Harrogate district’s famous floral displays will soon be looking worse for wear due to the hosepipe ban.

The ban came into force today and Harrogate Borough Council has confirmed it won’t be watering plants until it is lifted.

Yorkshire Water acted following months of dry weather, which have depleted water levels in the district’s reservoirs such as Thruscross and Swinsty.

It’s the first hosepipe ban in the area since 1995 and means the council’s parks and environmental services team, which looks after floral displays in parks as well as in towns and the city of Ripon, will have to watch its hard work wither until the ban is lifted.

parks and gardens

The district’s floral displays are a source of local pride.

Little rain is forecast for the remainder of the month.

A council spokesperson said:

“The Yorkshire Water website states that during the period of the ban councils cannot use hosepipes or sprinklers to water floral beds, displays or hanging baskets in public locations.

“This unfortunately means that we are not able to continue watering the floral beds, hanging baskets, barrier baskets or floral tubs around the Harrogate district.

“Using watering cans is not practical and continues to use water from our water supplies, which are currently in short supply and high demand”.

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The council also runs a subsidised hanging basket scheme in which businesses pay the council to provide the basket and plants. Staff then water and maintain the baskets throughout the summer.

The council says businesses who use the scheme will not be eligible for a refund.

Its spokesperson added:

 “The hanging basket scheme is already subsidised by the council to reduce the price of baskets to businesses in the town centre. 

“The hosepipe ban has come in at the end of the season so hopefully with lower temperatures and a bit of rain over the coming weeks the baskets will last a few more weeks until they are scheduled to be removed late September. 

“Whilst the hosepipe ban is unfortunate, it is also important that as community leaders we play our part in adhering to the restrictions and highlighting the need to conserve water”. 

Ripon resident says blocked gullies are leading to floods

A Ripon resident has called on North Yorkshire County Council to clean gullies in the city more regularly, after a burst water main led to a street being flooded this week.

People on North Street woke on Monday to water gushing out of a pipe onto the road. It was the second time in four days that a Yorkshire Water pipe had burst on the street and led to fears the flood might damage properties.

Some homes in the city and nearby villages were left without water for most of the day while the leak was fixed.

The street has gullies to take excess surface water but residents say they are regularly blocked by straw, hay and dirt.

Paul Oldham, who lives on North Street, said Monday’s flood was not an isolated incident.

He said whenever there is heavy rainfall in winter, residents have to go out to the drains to move dirt in the gullies so that water can go down.

Mr Oldham said:

“The fact is every year the residents on North Street clean out the drains because they are not maintained. We’re out in our wellies and we poke or prod to get water to subside, and eventually it does. The council needs to be cleaning out the drains.”

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It is the responsibility of North Yorkshire County Council to clean drains and gulleys in the district.

Mr Oldham added:

“I get that budgets might be cut, or cleaning drains might not be a priority, but the fact is it’s happened so often and regularly. It could have really affected properties along here.

“Its not a one off. They need to make sure the drains are cleaned. But I do have sympathy, it is difficult for them to get around and do all the jobs.”

North Yorkshire County Council highways area manager Melisa Burnham said:

“The gullies in North Street were inspected recently and the team involved found they were in good condition but did need to be jetted.

“Following the inspection a programme had already been devised to have them cleared and cleaned and that work will be delivered today.”

Fears up to 3 million litres of water wasted during lengthy Ripon leak

There are fears up to three million litres of water went to waste in Ripon yesterday, after a Yorkshire Water mains pipe burst on North Street.

The pipe burst at around 5am and meant around 4,000 homes in Ripon and the surrounding area woke up to no water.

It wasn’t fully restored until 7pm later in the day, with the company setting up two emergency bottled water stations at Ripon fire station and Ripon Racecourse for residents.

Emergency bottled water stations were set up in the city.

The Bishop of Ripon was among those criticising Yorkshire Water’s response to customers, saying its lack of communication was “unacceptable”.

https://twitter.com/HartleyHAM/status/1560284278331678720

A source at the scene told the Stray Ferret that engineers working on the leak said 70 litres of water were lost every second before it was fixed.

In a 12-hour period, this would have meant over three million litres could have been lost in total.

We put this figure to Yorkshire Water. A spokesperson said the figure was “inaccurate” but was unable to say how much water had been lost.

They said as soon as the leak was located engineers managed to stem the flow.

However, according to the company’s Twitter account, the leak wasn’t identified until 12pm, seven hours after it was first reported.

This suggests between 1.5 million and 2 million litres of water could have been lost.

Engineers on the scene Pic: Paul Smith

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The burst main has come at a bad time for Yorkshire Water. The Harrogate district is now officially in drought and a hosepipe ban will come into force from August 26.

We asked Yorkshire Water what caused the leak and a spokesperson sent the following statement:

“Our pipework has been under a lot of pressure recently – with high peaks of water usage and the dry ground causing soil to contract, which causes pipes to fracture more easily. We’ve increased resource in our field teams over the last few weeks, so that we can catch more small leaks before they turn into bursts and fix the big bursts as soon as possible.

“It took a little bit longer than usual to locate the burst pipe and complete the fix yesterday, as it was underground and tricky to locate. We delivered bottled water to customers on our priority services register and updated our customers via the website, social media and text, as to where they could collect bottled water.

“We’re grateful to our customers for their patience whilst we fixed the issue – those eligible for compensation in relation to the water supply interruption will receive it automatically.”

Ripon residents collect thousands of bottles of water as taps run dry

Thousands of bottles of water were handed out in Ripon this afternoon after a burst water main left around 4,000 homes without water all day.

Yorkshire Water set up an emergency bottled water station at Ripon fire station for thirsty residents, which had a steady stream of people in cars coming to pick up bottles of H2O, helped by on shift firefighters.

Mike and Kay had only just returned to Thornborough, north of Ripon, this afternoon after a holiday in Krakow, Poland.  Mike said:

“We’re waiting for a decent cup of tea!”

Colin from Copt Hewick was there to collect water for his pets.

“We’ve got animals, four dogs, so you’ve got to think of them first.”

Ripon firefighters help out.

Ant, from Stockton-on-Tees, holidays at a static caravan at Riverside Meadows holiday park. He said:

“It was a shock to wake up this morning and not be able to flush the toilet! I’m taking plenty of bottles for my neighbours too.”

Whilst spirits were generally high, one woman gave a Yorkshire Water employee a hard time over what she said was poor communication. The company has been slow to tell the public when normal water supply will resume.

She said its website had barely been updated all day so had tried to find updates on Twitter.

Her opinion was shared by Bishop of Ripon, Helen-Ann Hartley, who described communication from the water company as “unacceptable”.

https://twitter.com/HartleyHAM/status/1560284278331678720?s=20&t=LM9oGeOd6ls30OEDNSuu6A

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The burst water main on North Street has caused more disruption than a typical water leak, with many homes now without water for 12 hours.

Supermarkets in Ripon ran out of bottled water earlier today.

A Yorkshire Water employee told the Stray Ferret that service was likely to return at around 7pm but similar promises earlier today did not materialise.

The stock of water was quickly depleted.

One woman who arrived at the emergency bottled water station said to make sure there was room in the boot for a wine delivery that she was going to collect afterwards. “I can’t turn water into wine!” joked the Yorkshire Water employee, as he carried some bottles into her car.

More bottles of water will be available from Ripon Racecourse until 9pm.

Water returns to some properties in Ripon

Water has returned to some homes in Ripon following a burst pipe on North Road this morning.

Many properties in the city have had no water or low water pressure all morning.

Some companies in Ripon were forced to close, including the coffee shop at Larkhill Nurseries and the Water Rat pub. The latter has now reopened.

The problem has also affected people in nearby villages Sharow and Littlethorpe, as well as further afield in Thirsk.

Residents on Lead Lane in Ripon told the Stray Ferret at about midday that water had come back on, as have residents living in Deep Ghyll Croft and Saint Marygate. However, one person living in Sharow says water is still off as of midday.

Yorkshire Water has been slow to tell the public when normal water supply will resume.

North Road will soon be closed to traffic whilst repairs take place.

A spokesperson issued the following statement.

“Our teams are dealing with a burst 12-inch water main on North Road, Ripon. We are currently working to rezone our network and return water supply to those affected.

“To allow our teams to complete the repair safely, traffic management will be required. We’re working closely with North Yorkshire County Council highways teams to minimise disruption.”

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Ripon area hit by water outage

People in Ripon have woken up to no water in their homes this morning due to a burst main.

People took to social media to report the outage across the city.

The problem has also affected residents in nearby Sharow village and Littlethorpe.

Others said water pressure was low in their homes.

On its website, Yorkshire Water said it was working to restore its service to the HG4 area.

It said:

“We’re really sorry but customers may have low pressure or no water in the area. We’re working hard to get your water back to normal as soon as possible.

“Once it’s fixed, your water may be cloudy or discoloured – you can clear this by running your tap for a few minutes.”

James Thornborough. a Sharow resident, told the Stray Ferret the water company had been slow to notify customers of the problem and vague in providing details.

He also said the problem had led to a big demand on bottled water at Morrisons this morning.

We will update this story as we get more details.

Are you affected by the water outage? Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

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Harrogate district now officially in drought

The Environment Agency declared drought status in Yorkshire today due to low water levels.

This year’s prolonged spell of dry weather has led to exceptionally low river flows and reservoirs levels in the county.

Last week’s heatwave has added further pressure on the water network.

Moving to drought status means that the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water can implement stricter controls on water use.

Yorkshire Water has already announced a hosepipe ban that will come into effect from August 26.

The last drought in Yorkshire was declared in autumn 2018.

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The region joins large parts of England which moved to drought status on August 12.

Victoria Slingsby, environment planning and engagement manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said:

“The high temperatures we are experiencing have exacerbated pressures on wildlife and our water environment in Yorkshire. These extreme weather conditions become more likely with climate change.

“We are experiencing some much-needed rain this week, but it will not be enough to correct weeks of dry weather, and it will take more prolonged rainfall to wet up soils and replenish rivers, reservoirs and groundwater levels.

“It’s important for everyone to manage the amount of water they are using in this exceptionally dry period.”

Residents unconvinced about Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion

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.”