Letter: Pinewoods - A town without eco conscience

The first article highlights the significant concerns of the Rotary Club and the Pinewoods Conservation Group. They have made it clear that since this application was made in 2017 there has been little or no further information forthcoming with regard to replacement of the 400 trees that would be felled. At this time ownership was a local Harrogate company. The second article makes clear that the position has changed and the major ownership of 80 per cent of it is with a company with 20 per cent of its business based on its own water eg. Evian and Volvic.

The talk in that article is of expansion to meet growing need. Whilst the past owners may feel happy with such talk, what does that mean for Harrogate?

I was involved over 20 years ago when the first steps to achieving ‘Harrogate Water’ were taken.

The ambition was to take it away by tanker, but the EU would not permit the water industry to tanker it away and bottle it away from the source to some suitable industrial location and let them label it ‘Mineral’ or ‘Spring’ water.

The town welcomed the prospect when planning was approved for 1h of land with a visitor centre. Within a few months the operator submitted a plan to double the size of the site and leave out the visitor centre.

At this time not a drop of water had been extracted. The tree screening included protection for the Pinewoods from the blight of the site. Walk along the southern border and you will see the operator did nothing. Here we are once more with yet again a huge increase in the size of the site and the added destruction of woodland.

We are living in a changed world from 20 years ago and for Harrogate to support this plan could leave it looking like a town without an environmental conscience and more interested in profit and not the Pinewoods or the character of the town

Terry Byrne

Harrogate