Harrogate MP welcomes rejection of plastic bottling plant expansion at Rotary Wood
Tom Gordon MP says the fight might not be over yet
Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has expressed relief at the decision to reject plans for expanding a plastic water bottling site that would have seen hundreds of trees cut down at Rotary Wood. Danone's proposal faced significant opposition from over 1,000 residents, culminating in a peaceful protest outside the planning meeting yesterday.
Harrogate Spring Water’s managing director Richard Hall told Friday’s meeting the facility would create more than 50 new jobs, and how the firm planned to establish a new public wood, featuring 491 new trees, as well as committing to planting around 3,000 trees on land around the Harrogate district.
The MP says the rejection of the expansion plans is a welcome development for many local residents who voiced strong objections, concerned about the environmental impact and the loss of hundreds of trees.
In a statement Tom Gordon said: “Common sense has 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.”