Water bottling plant expansion rejected

Plans to expand a water bottling factory have been rejected by councillors.

Harrogate Spring Water had wanted to extend its site on Harlow Moor Road, in a move it said would create 50 jobs.

Planning officers had recommended approval despite hundreds of objections, including one from Dame Judi Dench, due to the loss of about 500 trees in Rotary Wood. The firm had promised to plant six times more trees than would be lost.

Rejecting officers' recommendations, North Yorkshire Council committee members said the location of new trees was not considered adequate to replace those lost, and the design of the new building was not considered to be fitting with its local environment.

The firm was granted outline planning permission to expand in 2017 and submitted a reserved matters application in 2020.

In October 2025, councillors had said they wanted more information about proposed agreements between the firm and the council, and on plans to mitigate the loss of trees.

A report by planning officers said: "The matters for consideration under this application only relate to access, scale, layout, appearance and landscaping.

"The scale, access and layout comply with the parameters conditioned at outline stage and are considered to be acceptable.

"The proposed landscaping has been reviewed by officers and amended through the application process and is considered to be acceptable.

"The appearance has been altered through the application in response to officer comments and is also considered to be acceptable."

However, their recommendation was rejected by committee members.

In a letter opposing the plans, Dame Judi said: "I am sorry not to be with you in person, but I wanted my support for Rotary Wood and for the local community defending it to be heard clearly at this planning meeting.

"Rotary Wood is not an empty plot waiting for a better use. It is a living, growing woodland created through patience, care and public spirit.

"Local families, volunteers, schoolchildren and community supporters helped plant it and watch it take root.

"Over the years it has become part of Harrogate's natural fabric and part of the area's shared sense of place."

Yorkshire-born Dame Judi added it was "deeply troubling" that a healthy community woodland "could be treated as disposable".

Among the other well-known names opposing the application were actors Dame Joanna Lumley and Sam West, as well as environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt.

The decision to reject the proposals was welcomed by the Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon said "common sense had finally prevailed".

"Swapping a cherished woodland for a plastic water bottling plant should never have been on the table.

"I'm glad that the committee finally rejected it, but it shouldn't have taken so many signatures, placards and even the voice of Dames Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench, for them to see sense.

"We still need to be wary of future attempts to destroy our cherished woodland, today's decision represents a welcome but temporary reprieve."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the recommendation to approve the plans had also angered some councillors.

Mike Schofield, Green Party councillor for the Harlow and St George's ward, said the proposal was "an utter betrayal of our community, our water and our woodland".

Ian Swann, operations director at Harrogate Spring Water, said the firm's expansion plans would "increase demand across our supply chain as part of normal operations, keeping more value in the local economy".

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.