Minister will not intervene on gas drilling refusal

A council decision to reject plans for a gas drilling rig in a North Yorkshire village is set to be formalised after the government said it would not intervene.

Councillors said on 24 April they were "minded to reject" Europa Oil & Gas' application for a 125ft (38m) rig in Burniston, near Scarborough, despite planning officers recommending the scheme for approval.

The preliminary ruling, following a five-hour meeting, was to be reviewed by the secretary of state before being made final.

However, a government spokesperson has since said it is a "decision for the local authority".

"We will ban fracking for good and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect current and future generations," they added.

Europa's plans include the use of a proppant squeeze method to extract the gas.

The technique has been likened to "small-scale fracking" but is allowed under current legislation because of the amount of fluid used in the process.

A decision was due to be made in January but was postponed at the request of the secretary of state, who later declined to call in the decision.

The proposals attracted more than 1,600 objections, with protesters gathering outside the 24 April council meeting to voice concerns about the environment, cliff stability, noise and light pollution and impacts on groundwater.

North Yorkshire Council was told this week that the government "does not intend to re-screen the application", the authority's head of development management Martin Grainger said.

"Officers will now look to finalise reasons for refusing the application in line with members' decision," he added.

"A formal decision notice will then be issued in the near future."

Following the vote by councillors, Europa's CEO said the firm would appeal against the decision and felt "confident" about winning.

"We need to be concerned about the environment, but if we don't produce domestic gas, we buy it from overseas," William Holland said.

However, Tony Bosworth, of campaign group Friends of the Earth, said the scheme would not lower UK energy bills and "remains deeply unpopular".

He called on the government to include the proppant squeeze method in its ban on fracking.

"If it fails, communities across England will remain under threat."

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