A bottled water company aiming to expand its factory into an area of community woodland say the plans "strike the right balance between sustainable development and economic growth" amid new criticism of the plans.
Danone UK & Ireland, parent company of Harrogate Spring Water, continues to back its plans to increase the size of its plant in the town’s Harlow Moor Road despite continuing opposition to the proposal.
The support came after a local councillor said he had written to Natural England and the Environment Agency after North Yorkshire Council decided the company did not need to file an environmental impact assessment with its application.
Councillor Mike Schofield, independent member for the Harlow and St George’s division, said he contacted the two organisations asking for clarification on the environmental impact of the expansion.
He said:
“Given the scale of the proposal and the number of missing ecological and hydrological assessments, I simply do not see how anyone can have confidence that all environmental impacts have been properly considered.
“Residents deserve clear answers, and right now, many of those answers are missing.”
In October, members of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee deferred a decision on the expansion amid objections from campaign groups and local politicians over the loss of around 500 trees in Rotary Wood, an area of community woodland.
The committee said they needed to know the terms of a proposed section 106 agreement between the applicant and the council before making a decision, rather than leaving it for officers to decide after a decision had been taken.
Councillors also wanted more information on proposed measures to mitigate the loss of the trees, including plans for a new wet woodland near the bottling plant.
These measures were noted as a condition — Condition 12 — when the original outline application for the extension was passed in 2017, but opponents of the scheme say the condition should have been met before the latest reserved matters application was made.
Cllr Schofield said bat surveys, amphibian and reptile surveys, a lighting assessment, a full tree survey, habitat assessments, infiltration testing and hydrological modelling had not been produced for the application.
He added:
“This is a sensitive woodland site involving priority habitats and complex drainage conditions.
“Decisions like this need to be based on a complete and reliable evidence base. If that evidence isn’t available yet, then the decision-making process should reflect that reality.
“If Natural England or the Environment Agency indicate that significant effects cannot yet be ruled out, or that further assessment is needed, then the Council will need to look again at how it has approached the environmental screening.
“What matters is that decisions are made on the basis of full and accurate information.”
In response, a spokesperson for Danone UK & Ireland said:
“We have worked constructively with council officers and engaged with the local community to ensure our plans align with planning policy and reflect the commitments we have made.
“The planning documents (including S106 and Condition 12) provide certainty for both the community and the council and strike the right balance between sustainable development and economic growth.”
Earlier this month, members of Harrogate Town Council voted unanimously to oppose the expansion plans.
The plans are set to be reconsidered by councillors in the new year.
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