What?
We’re investing £15 million in the wider Harrogate area to create a bigger, stronger network for current and future generations.
The ways in which we’re upgrading our local network include:
- Installing nearly 5km of new sewer pipes to transfer wastewater to two new sewage pumping stations (at Harlow Carr and Spring Lane)
- Constructing two new storage tanks with a combined capacity enough to fill roughly 25,000 bathtubs, located behind Pannal Green and on Fulwith Mill Lane.
Why?
This project is happening because of planned housing growth in the Harrogate area. We're not a statutory consultee for planning applications and have limited involvement in the process.
However, it’s our responsibility to protect the local environment and support residents by upgrading our sewer network to accommodate this housing and population growth.
These improvements will strengthen our ability to manage wastewater during periods of heavy rainfall, reducing the risk of flooding and making your local network more resilient for the future.
Where?
The new sewer will run from the new pumping station at Harlow Carr Gardens to the land adjacent to the current Yorkshire Water Pumping Station on Crag Lane.
Flows will travel up Beckwith Head Road and Lady Lane, crossing into fields near the junction of Whinney Lane. The sewer will continue through private farmland to Yew Tree Lane, where it will cross under the road and continue to land at Spring Lane.
Here, a secondary pumping station will pump flows across farmland at Woodcock Hill before dropping down and connecting into our main trunk sewer at the rear of Pannal Green, where one of our new storage tanks will be built. The second new storage tank is being built on Fulwith Mill Lane, to help add additional storage to the network.
When?
Work began in March 2026 with our contract partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley, and we expect to be completed in autumn 2027. This timeline is dependent on external factors, including weather conditions, and we’ll update you here if there is to be a change in this timeline.
Mott MacDonald Bentley will be working 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Weekend or out of hours working may be needed at times when we have critical works happening, such are concrete base pours which must be poured in one continuous period.
Polite notice
We would like to remind you that our team are real people who are working with us to invest in your local area. As such, we will not tolerate any of the following:
- Physical or verbal abuse
- Threats or personal attacks
- Hate speech, discriminatory, or offensive language
- Repeated harassment of our site teams, or trespassing on active work sites
Any of these actions will be reported and all evidence submitted to the police.
Any questions?
What parts of the project are you carrying out in Pannal?
We're building a new public sewer from Church Lane to a new underground storage tank behind Pannal Primary School, connecting it to our existing trunk sewer nearby, behind properties on Pannal Green.
In normal conditions, sewage will flow through the new sewer for full treatment at Harrogate South Sewage Treatment Works. During periods of heavy rainfall, excess flows can be temporarily stored in the new underground tank and then pumped back into the sewer network for treatment. This will help reduce the frequency of discharges from local combined sewage overflows (CSOs). We're also building a new sewage pumping station on Spring Lane, to further improve the resilience of the wastewater network. working with us to invest in your local area, so thank you for your understanding and cooperation while they do this.
There’s a pipe running into Crimple Beck near one of your project sites in Pannal, what is this for and are the Environmental Agency aware?
This is a temporary overland pipe to manage high levels of naturally occurring groundwater in the area of our Pannal Underground Storage Tank site. This is because a lot of groundwater would make it difficult to sink our storage tank into the ground, so we're releasing some of this water into Crimple Beck.
This is completely safe to release back into the environment and this activity has been approved by the Environmental Agency. We plan for this pipe to only be in place until this storage tank is largely constructed, which we expect to be in Spring 2027. After this, it will be removed.
Have your projects in the Harrogate area gained the necessary permits and acknowledgements from local authorities and regulatory bodies?
All of our projects in Harrogate have the necessary permits in place and approved by the relevant local authorities, including the North Yorkshire County Council and industry or regulatory bodies like the Environmental Agency. Our works follow the conditions that are mandated by the permits and requirements set by these bodies, and aspects of our works will only take place when we’ve received these permits and consent.
Will any sewage stored in the new storage tanks smell?
No, this will be dilute sewerage from a combined sewer (which includes surface water and raw sewage) and storage times will be minimal. The electronics in our storage tanks will activate our pumps in the network, returning the flows to the sewer as soon as the sewer downstream can accommodate them without triggering any combined sewage overflows (CSOs) from discharging.
Have any plans for our project changed since the public drop-in held in Pannal in April 2026?
The design of our project remains as initially intended, meaning any information about our planned works shared with the public at our drop-in event held in Pannal in April 2026 is accurate and up-to-date.
Will the works be noisy?
You may notice us in your area while our works are taking place. This could include noise from vehicles moving to and from our site locations, as well as hearing works machinery and equipment being used on-site.
These works will be contained as much as possible to our core working hours to minimise disruption to local residents, and we have installed hoarding and acoustic barriers to limit noise. Some generators will need to run overnight, but we’ll make sure these are hoarded with acoustic barriers to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible.
Will the works be dusty?
Our storage tank works won't involve much cutting of materials that can produce dust, but where cutting and dust may be released, we must put in place suitable suppression techniques. Any dust from wagon movements will be monitored and dust suppression techniques will be used to prevent excessive release for the safety and wellbeing of everyone in the local area.
What can I expect to see at your active site locations?
Our active site locations are fenced off to keep the public and our site team safe. Please do not under any circumstances enter these working areas. All working areas are monitored with CCTV, and all machines are fitted with cameras and are tracked.
We'll have additional security in Pannal to prioritise the safety of our site team and local residents, which includes a specialist security subcontractor and some of our site team wearing body worn CCTV.
What environmental considerations have been made while you’re working in greenspaces in the Harrogate area?
If we’re working in greenspaces, we consider all of the necessary ecological and environmental surveys to make sure we’re protecting and conserving the local environment and wildlife habitats.
How will the sites be left when you have finished working?
Our storage tank and sewage pumping station sites
A concrete lid will be placed and sealed on top of our storage tanks. Above ground apparatus at all of our new storage tank and sewage pumping stations will include two small kiosks, a ventilation stack, and manhole covers flush to the ground, with concrete surrounds and potential concrete connecting pathways. A new access will be constructed to these sites for times of routine maintenance. The only mechanical apparatus will be the pumps, which will be underground and underwater, so no noise should be emitted from the new apparatus.
Our pipeline work sites
Once the pipeline is laid, the land will be restored to pre-project levels. Visible surface apparatus will be limited to flush manhole covers.
Sandy Bank Woods (our temporary access track to the Pannal green storage tank site)
The trackway through Sandy Bank will be closed on completion and the stone laid for the track will be removed. Work will then begin to restore the woodland in line with the landowner's reinstatement strategy.
Trees and hedgerow removals around our project sites
Sometimes we need to remove trees, hedgerows, and other vegetation in areas that we’re working, but there are often reinstatement requirements as part of these works, too. Any removals are discussed with and approved by the local authority, as well as any landowners, and this is the same for reinstatement. Wherever possible, we restore our work locations back to at least their original conditions after works are finished.
We often plant young hedgerows instead of mature ones when carry our reinstatement works, as they are more likely to survive being transplanted and provide better coverage as they establish and grow.