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Sept
Legal battle looms as Harrogate Spring Water appeals Pinewoods refusal
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Harrogate Spring Water announced today (September 29) it will appeal a decision to refuse its expansion plans.
It means the government's Planning Inspectorate will have the final say on the scheme.
Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French multinational Danone, has spent almost 10 years trying to expand its factory in the Pinewoods.
It would involve felling 500 trees on public land in a section of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.
This has generated fierce opposition from campaigners and celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench despite the company pledging to plant 3,000 trees elsewhere and saying the scheme would create 50 jobs.
North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee rejected the scheme in April, which gave Harrogate Spring Water until the middle of next month to appeal.
Managing director Richard Hall said:
We have designed our plans extremely carefully over a number of years and have consulted both with the community and with local planning officials to ensure they are compliant, which officers recognised when they recommended the plans for approval. We do not agree with committee’s decision and so our next step is to appeal.
We have done everything we can to understand genuine local community concerns, mitigate environmental impact and invest for sustainable development in the future, benefitting the local economy of Harrogate.
Our appeal has a strong legal basis and our plans meet all the technical requirements. They will also have significant benefits for the town and I will ensure that our expansion is managed in a sympathetic, sustainable way.
Councillors on the planning committee went against the council officer’s recommendation to approve the scheme.
Today’s move paves the way for a costly legal battle early next year, which could saddle the council with a hefty legal bill.
You can read an interview with Harrogate Spring Water managing director Richard Hall here and a timeline of the expansion saga here. We will have more reaction and analysis soon. Please subscribe to see our comprehensive coverage.
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