Dame Judi Dench brands Harrogate Water’s plans to chop down 500 trees to expand its factory ‘an act of environmental vandalism’
Dame Judi’s comments were read out at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee on October 28.
The star, who is originally from York, said: ‘To destroy Rotary Wood for corporate expansion would be an act of environmental vandalism – erasing a thriving habitat planted by children and nurtured by a community that believed in protecting our future.’
Green Party Councillor Arnold Warneken, who has been involved with the campaign for four years, shared the comments on behalf of Dame Judi.
He said the actress has strong local ties, including her late father working as a GP in the area, adding: ‘It helped draw attention to a wider audience, so it was very useful in that respect.’
Dame Judi has other links to Harrogate. She is a long-time patron of Harrogate Theatre, as well as a patron of the Woodland Trust, and has consistently used her platform to champion environmental issues. Last year, she joined forces with fellow actress Emma Thompson to call on the government to back nature recovery through Chris Packham’s Restore Nature Now campaign.
Richard Hall, the managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, told councillors the expansion plans would create 50 jobs.
He added: ‘The central matter of concern raised during the consultations was the loss of trees in Rotary Wood.
‘Our proposal will create a new area of publicly accessible woodland the same size as the area that would be lost.’
But Neil Hind, of the Save Rotary Wood campaign group, said: ‘The site forms part of the Pinewoods green corridor, a living woodland used daily for walking, education and wellbeing.
‘This is not just a spare piece of land. Its loss would be permanent and contrary to council policies.’
Councillor John Mann said more than 1,000 objections had been lodged – compared to just 11 expressions of support.
The committee ultimately voted to defer the decision until a future meeting when more information is available.
Councillors had asked for a clear explanation on how exactly the lost trees would be replaced – as well as more details on plans for a new wet woodland near the bottling plant.
Sarah Gibbs, a Rotary Wood Campaigner stated on her faceback page ‘Save Rotary Wood – Again’
“I want to thank everyone who turned up today with banners, masks, an awesome bat costume: Extinction Rebellion Harrogate Red Rebels, Zero Carbon Harrogate, Long Lands Common, the brilliant brass band, our four-legged furry friends, everyone. You are all AMAZING!
Though this is not the outcome we wanted, it’s a opportunity to keep growing the community of resistance and continue to hold our Council to account.
Stay strong. Stay connected. Watch this space for possible future meetings to discuss next steps.
HISTORY
Over the past five years, the Harrogate and District Green Party have been working with local groups and the community to stop the development of community land by a plastic water bottling factory. It’s a campaign based on David and Goliath. The local community is trying to stop an international conglomerate from taking much used public land to the detriment of the environment and local ecosystem.
In 2017, Harrogate Sping Water (owned by Danone) was granted outline planning permission to extend their factory into Rotary Wood. Harrogate Borough Council owns this established woodland, an environmental and community asset. In 2019, they applied to extend this extension to cover two acres of the woods, which was rejected again in 2021 after a fight by the local community and TV presenter Julia Bradbury.
References: Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Green Party, Facebook Action Group.
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