Gas drill plans opposed by town council and MP

5 hours ago

Anttoni James Numminen

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The gas company said the rig would help the local economy (stock image)

Getty Images Casing on the ground in front of the drill rig at a pilot gas well site near Blackpool, UK — The gas company said the rig would help the local economy (stock image)

Plans for a new gas-drilling rig near a seaside town have been unanimously opposed by local decision-makers.

The planning application to North Yorkshire Council proposes using a controversial "proppant squeeze" method to extract the gas in Burniston, near Scarborough, after installing a 98ft (30m) drilling rig on the site.

But Reform-run Scarborough Town Council said during consultation that it had concerns about pollution, lorry traffic and water contamination and gave its "full and unwavering support" to local residents, who also oppose the plan.

Europa Oil & Gas said its scheme would be positive for the local economy and "no-one is going to notice" its presence.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume and David Skaith, elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, have also objected to the plans.

The proppant squeeze technique has been described as "small-scale fracking" and has been accused by some of being a loophole in the UK's moratorium on the fossil fuel extraction process.

Friends of the Earth wrote to North Yorkshire Council notifying it of the legal opinion it had obtained that said that proppant squeeze qualifies as fracking under relevant planning policy, and that it must be considered as such when the council considers Europa's application for planning permission.

The rig would be located near the village of Burniston

Google Two sign posts displaying town name of Burniston and a 30mph speed limit with a lorry driving between them — The rig would be located near the village of Burniston

Proppant squeeze procedures have been regularly used in the UK for several years, and industry experts consider the technique low volume, unlike the process formally termed "hydraulic fracturing", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Friends of the Earth lawyers also wrote to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy, urging him to close what they called a loophole in the current fracking moratorium "as a matter of urgency".

The environmental group said that having different definitions for fracking was creating confusion, and that the moratorium must be widened to cover all types of fracking, regardless of the volume of the injected fluid.

Europa has maintained that "it is a misconception that there is a loophole" in the fracking moratorium.

The application is currently under consideration by North Yorkshire Council, with consultee responses awaited.

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