Councillors vote against fracking plans

RYEDALE District Council has voted to oppose a fracking application in North Yorkshire but the energy firm behind the plans stressed that the final decision lies with another authority.

Third Energy applied for permission to extract shale gas from a site in Kirby Misperton, just north of Malton but seven district councillors objected to the proposal. Frack Free Ryedale called it a “fantastic result”.

But Third Energy said in a statement: “Third Energy notes the committee report written by the case officer at Ryedale District Council concluded there were no planning grounds for objecting to our application to hydraulically  fracture the existing KM8 well. The case officer’s committee report did propose some stringent planning conditions that were acceptable to Third Energy.

“We are now studying the vote by the RDC Planning Committee, contrary to the advice of their own officer, to understand if any material planning issues were raised in the objection to our application.  It should be remembered that Ryedale District Council is only one of many statutory consultees on this application, whose views will be taken into account by North Yorkshire County Council, the Mineral Planning Authority, in its consideration of the planning application.”