‘Deeply troubling’ plans to chop down 500 trees to expand a bottled water factory have been rejected by councillors following a high-profile campaign to save the woodlands fronted by Dame Judi Dench and Joanna Lumley.
Harrogate Spring Water (HSW) had proposed to expand its existing facility in the town, but it would have meant the removal of hundreds of trees at a site called Rotary Wood, which was planted by children 20 years ago.
North Yorkshire Council received more than 1,000 objections to the scheme.
The firm had argued that the facility would create more than 50 new jobs, while it would have planted a new, public wood, featuring 491 new trees, as well as committing to planting around 3,000 trees on land around the Harrogate district.
But the environmental cost was considered too high by North Yorkshire Council, which rejected the plans, adding that the location of the new trees was not considered adequate to replace those lost.
Among those most vocal against the plan was Yorkshire-born actress Dame Judi, 91, who urged the council not to treat the community woodland as ‘disposable’.
In a letter to the council, she said: ‘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.
‘Deeply troubling’ plans to chop down 500 trees to expand a bottled water factory have been rejected following a high-profile campaign fronted by Dame Judi Dench
Rotary Wood was planted by children more than 20 years ago – but it was under threat of being demolished to make space for the expansion of a bottled water factory
Dame Joanna Lumley said the plan to cut down the trees was ‘awful in so many ways’
‘Over the years it has become part of Harrogate’s natural fabric and part of the area’s shared sense of place.’
The Oscar, Bafta and Olivier Award winning actor, who is also a patron of The Woodland Trust, added: ‘At a time when the country is talking so urgently about biodiversity loss, climate pressure and the need to protect nature close to where people live, it is deeply troubling that a healthy community woodland could be treated as disposable.’
‘I respectfully urge the committee to recognise Rotary Wood for what it is: a meaningful community woodland, a haven for wildlife and a symbol of what local people can achieve when they invest in nature. It deserves protection, not destruction.’
Among the other well-known names opposing the application were actors Dame Joanna Lumley and Sam West, former model Bianca Jagger, as well as environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt.
Dame Joanna said: ‘To cut down so many trees planted by children to develop a bottling plant is dreadful in so many ways.’
She said: ‘This 20-year-old forest carrying the hopes of the next generation cannot be replaced.’
HSW is owned by the France-based multinational food-products company Danone and campaigners claim the plan to remove the trees contradicts the firm’s Forest Policy.
Sir Jonathon said: ‘I’ve spent decades urging companies to turn fine words on forests into real action.
‘What Danone is proposing in Harrogate does the opposite.
‘You cannot call yourself ‘forest positive’ while cutting down a thriving community woodland planted by children.’
Planning officers had recommended that the plan was approved.
The decision to reject the proposals was welcomed by Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dem MP Tom Gordon, who said ‘common sense had finally prevailed’.
Sarah Gibbs, from Save Rotary Wood, told The Times that she anticipated there would be an appeal but was glad the woodland had been saved for now.
She said: ‘This decision sends an important message – people power works.’