Oil and gas drilling plans to be scaled down

A business, which had its earlier plans for oil and gas drilling in East Yorkshire turned down, says it will resubmit a smaller scale proposal before the end of the year.

Rathlin Energy had intended to add six more wells to its site near West Newton, but its application was refused by East Riding Council.

The Beverley-based company has now confirmed it will submit proposals to cover a smaller area, with only four oil wells instead.

Its previous proposal had been recommended for approval, but was rejected after more than 1,000 people objected, arguing that it undermined the council’s climate emergency declaration.

A spokesman for Rathlin Energy told the BBC: “We are aiming to submit our revised planning application for four new wells rather than the previously applied for six new wells by the end of December.

“The proposed site will be 25% smaller than our original planning application, and the reduced site size will require fewer HGVs to import aggregate.

“Due to the proposed reduction in wells, the duration of drilling will be reduced from 24 months to 17.5 months and this reduction in activities will mean far fewer heavy goods vehicles during the drilling and testing phases.”