Why we are ploughing on with expansion plans - by Harrogate Spring Water's managing director

Many opinions have been raised in this historic spa town since Harrogate Spring Water first revealed its expansion plans in 2017.

Years of consultation since the world famous water bottled brand’s scheme cleared the first phase of the planning system almost ten years ago have tended to raise the temperature of the debate, rather than cooling it, fuelling hostility rather than easing it.

In this long drawn-out war of words over the future of a Harrogate company now owned by multi-national Danone, one question, in particular, stands out.

In the face of the tide of opinion why is a company so closely tied to the town determined to carry on with the controversial project?

On the day Harrogate Spring Water announced its intention to appeal a decision by Harrogate and Knaresborough county councillors to refuse permission at the reserved matters stage, the Harrogate Advertiser put that, and other questions, to the company’s managing director at its state-of-the-art headquarters and factory at Harlow Moor Road.

Why we are ploughing on with expansion plans - by Richard Hall, Managing Director, Harrogate Spring WaterWhy don’t you just scrap the plans?

"We are a local business which wants to expand in a growing market for bottled water.

"Why would we give up?

"We don’t see an option not to grow.”

"Surveys show a silent majority of the Harrogate public are in favour of our plans to expand.

"We are proud of our proposals which take into account questions of the environment and the interests of the town.”

With so many local groups and campaigners still complaining about various details of the expansion, why don’t you ask them to come up with their own plans when it comes to the environmental impact of any expansion?

"The scheme we have now isn’t the same as in 2017.

“When we were revising the plans as part of a series of consultations we worked with the groups most concerned about the affect on Rotary Wood.

"What we have devised is based on people’s views from those consultations.

"For example, our intention for the approximately two acres of land which we are acquiring to plant new woodland is that it should be designated as an Asset of Community Value for its protection.

"We did listen and we are listening.

"That is what is quite frustrating about the whole situation, from our point of view.”

The company has said previously that the question of expansion is not a life or death one. In that case, why not settle for the current capacity?

"Which company wouldn’t want to grow if the chance was there?

"We are already a major employer in Harrogate and expansion would create extra jobs and boost the town’s economy.

"In times that are challenging we offer exciting opportunities to not only employ young people but also to train them.

"We are proud to be a Harrogate company and we want the town to be proud of us."

If the appeal to the national Planning Inspectorate should prove successful, when will work begin on the physical expansion of Harrogate Spring Water?

"After notifying North Yorkshire Council of our intention to appeal, there is a deadline of ten days for the start of the process of preparing for the appeal.

"We would then expect the Planning Inspector’s hearing to take place in the first quarter of next year.

"The next step would be to complete the purchase of the land we need which, again, has to go through a planning process, as does the impact of the work on roads in the area.

"If that happens, we would expect there to be spades in the ground in approximately two years.

"But in this situation there is no precise workflow worked out yet.”