Decision on village gas drilling plans postponed
Getty ImagesA meeting to discuss proposals to drill for gas in a North Yorkshire village has been postponed while the plans are considered by the housing secretary.
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.
North Yorkshire Council's strategic planning committee had been due to meet on Friday to discuss the plans however the meeting has been postponed following a request from the secretary of state.
Europa said it was "disappointing" that the committee "has unnecessarily decided to postpone the meeting".
The council's assistant chief executive, Barry Khan, said the meeting had been called off after "a number of interested parties" had written to the Planning Inspectorate, asking that the plans were called in for determination by the secretary of state.
He added: "Yesterday we received correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government asking that no decision is issued in this case while the Secretary of State considers these requests.
"The decision to postpone the meeting has been made as a result of this correspondence, as well as discussions with councillors who sit on the strategic planning committee."
North Yorkshire Council said a new date for the meeting had not yet been set.
Europa's plans would employ 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.
However, the plans have attracted more than 1,600 objections from local residents, with Kim Hunter, from Frack Free Scarborough, describing the latest development "as a win".
She said: "The proposed scheme contradicts national climate and energy policy, is of major national significance, and as we have long argued, the application process has been handled as though it were a mere formality."
Prof Chris Garforth, of Frack Free Coastal Communities, said it gave the government the opportunity to "close the loophole that allows companies to rebrand fracking as something benign".
"We're grateful to everyone who submitted call-in requests and to the Planning Inspectorate for recognising this application warrants closer scrutiny."
Garforth previously raised concerns about the possible effects of the venture.
He said: "We're worried that, as has happened elsewhere, pollutants and chemicals from the process will find new pathways through the fracked rocks into the aquifers (a layer of rock, sand, or earth that contains water) on which Scarborough depends for its drinking water.
"We're also worried about above ground effects such as air pollution, dust pollution, noise pollution and light pollution."
Europa has previously said the scheme would be positive for the local economy and "no-one is going to notice" its presence.
The firm insisted drilling would comply with "industry best practice" and environmental standards.
North Yorkshire Council had recommended the scheme for approval, adding that "it is considered on balance that there are no material planning considerations that warrant its refusal".
The authority said there would be no unacceptable adverse environmental impacts resulting from the proposed development and it had a temporary nature of up to three years.
In a statement, Europa said: "The planning officers' recommendation to approve has been submitted following extensive independent assessment to ensure that the local community and environment is not adversely impacted by the proposed drilling actively.
"The UK continues to consume gas and whilst this continues the socially, environmentally and economically responsible source of gas is undoubtedly domestically produced gas."
Additional reporting by Local Democracy Reporter Anttoni James Numminen.
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
