Village gas drilling plans rejected by council
BBC/RICHARD EDWARDSPlans to drill for gas in a North Yorkshire village have been rejected by councillors.
Europa Oil & Gas wants to install a 125ft (38m) rig in the village of Burniston, close to the North York Moors National Park, with the scheme recommended for approval by council planning officers.
But after an almost five-hour meeting at Scarborough Town Hall, councillors said they were "minded to refuse" the scheme, with all but one voting to reject proposals.
However, the preliminary refusal will be reviewed by the secretary of state before a final ruling is made.
Europa wants to use a proppant squeeze method to extract the gas - a technique which has been likened to "small-scale fracking" and which is allowed under current legislation.
The application was due to be decided at a meeting in January but the decision was postponed following a request from the secretary of state.
The plans have attracted more than 1,600 objections from local residents and protesters gathered outside the town hall before the meeting to voice their concerns.
These included fears about environmental pollution, cliff stability, noise and light pollution, and impacts on groundwater.
At the meeting of North Yorkshire Council's strategic planning committee, half a dozen public speakers opposed the scheme, including Prof Chris Garforth of Frack Free Coastal Communities.
He said: "Gas from North Yorkshire will not bring lower prices, because gas from here may well be exported.
"Energy security comes from speeding up a transition to renewable energy.
"Visitors come here for the tranquillity of the heritage coast, which this development will blight."
Councillors also raised concerns about the impact of lighting on the North York Moors National Park's dark skies policy.
Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Andrew Timothy said he was "concerned with public safety impacts and that should be paramount in everything we do".
He said: "I don't believe it's possible for us to know if it's safe or not and as such I can't support this application."
'Confident in appeal'
William Holland, CEO of Europa Oil & Gas, told the committee such developments could be carried out "responsibly" and the company was "committed to working constructively with the local community throughout".
Local ward councillor Derek Bastiman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting: "I'm absolutely over the moon with the results.
"It's been a long afternoon, but councillors considered everything, and they explored every avenue."
Holland said his firm would appeal against the decision and felt "confident" about winning.
Commenting on the environmental concerns raised by residents, he said: "We need to be concerned about the environment, but if we don't produce domestic gas, we buy it from overseas.
"Seventy-seven per cent of people in Yorkshire consume gas for their heating, so there's a tremendous consumption of gas in Yorkshire."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
