Fracking Approval

Approval for fracking in North Yorkshire reignites intense debate.

13:02 26 May 2016

On Monday, councillors in North Yorkshire voted to allow fracking near the village of Kirby Misperton, reigniting intense debate and raising the prospect of the controversial technique of extracting oil or gas from rocks by pumping liquid into them at high pressure.

 

The decision has been called a “victory for pragmatism” by those in favour.

 

The approval of the application for licence in using such technique had been stalled since 2011 after tests on the Flyde coast in Lancashire showed probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.

 

Two applications to frack at Roseacre and Little Plumpton in Lancashire were rejected by councillors on the grounds of noise and traffic impact. They are now the subjects of appeals.

 

The application to drill was granted to the UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at a drilling site using an existing two-mile deep well. Chief executive Rasik Valand said the company now had a "huge responsibility" to deliver on its commitment "to undertake this operation safely and without impacting on the local environment."

 

The council’s planning committee voted seven to four in favour. Anti-fracking campaigners are now considering a possible legal action to challenge the decision.