North Yorkshire County Council’s planning committee has approved plans by Third Energy to frack its existing well at Kirby Misperton in Ryedale.
The decision was greeted with shouts and tears from opponents of the scheme both inside and outside County Hall in Northallerton.
The committee voted by 7 to 4 to approve Third Energy’s application to frack, test and produce gas from its KM8 well for up to nine years.
The result came at the end of two days of testimony and discussion.
The council’s planning officers had recommended approval despite more than 4,000 objections and a petition of more than 2,500 signatures.
Councillors who voted against the application: John Blackie (NY Ind), Bill Hoult (Lib Dem), David Ireton (Cons), Robert Packham (Lab).
Councillors who voted for the application: David Blades (Cons), Robert Heseltine (Ind), Andrew Lee (Cons), Clifford Lunn (Cons), Peter Sowray (Cons), Cliff Trotter (Cons), Robert Windass (Cons).
Reaction to the decision
Updated 27/5/2016 with names of councillors who voted in favour and against the application and links to reaction posts
This report is part of DrillOrDrop’s Rig Watch project. Rig Watch receives funding from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. More details here
Categories: Regulation
DRILL OR DROP? 
How many pieces of silver for a community? If you support fracking, don’t worry, it will be coming to a field near you soon.
No gas in Essex. I’ll be ok. Or maybe not. I have to deal with the worst air pollution in all of Britain where I live,the M25 and A13 corridor, but you know what, I don’t see Greenpeace or anyone else protesting on the the M25 holding banners up saying “stop the cars,let our children breathe”. Double standards I’m afraid. I pay my fair rate of tax,no doubt the people of north Yorkshire do also, but you can’t have it all in your beautiful little shire.
I wonder how these protesters and villagers all got to the council offices? Hmmmmmm,oh yeah,most likely to be either their legs or by fossil fuel burning cars. Double standards again.
ROY, we can all find something that we perceive is worse to blame. I have children that use that method of reasoning all the time.
If you really have not, after all this time worked out what people are concerned about. Then you are either a very naive person, or another shale gas investor willing to say or do anything to recover their current losses.
As for pollution Roy, if you want to play that game to see who has the worst, then how’s this one for you.
Trafford residents already have air pollution levels that regularly break international guidelines. ( SEE Breath Clean Air Group website. ) They also now have the prospect of increased levels of pollution from a large incinerator that is currently being built, plus the prospect of fracking.
MISSING WORDS TO THE ABOVE .
plus the prospect of fracking, or CBM extraction.
CBM extraction has already been approved at one ( densely populated ) Trafford site, next to where the Incinerator is currently being built.
I’m neither an investor in the oil and gas industry,but of course respect what you have to say.If that’s how your children use reasoning then I already feel very sorry for them.I want national energy security and for jobs to be created. You’ve lost the battle,democracy voted 7-4 in favour of Fracking.If I lost 7-4 in a football match I’d think,”fair play,we were beaten fair and square”. Some real sore losers about I can tell you.
ROY, I agree, energy security for the UK is an issue the needs to be addressed.
At the starting grid, we should first look at how we can save some of the enormous amounts of energy we currently waste.
Faced with tough decisions, I would rather choose Nuclear Energy or conventional Oil and Gas extraction as long as it did not cause a wake of destruction prior, during, or after its extraction. Best of all, I would much rather see non poluting forms of energy place an increasing role in our energy supply.
All the above would see a vast increase in jobs for UK residents., that I also support.
As far as your comment regarding the 7-4 vote being a step forward for democracy. If you truly believe that, then you really are delusional.
What I can’t understand Roy, is if you are not a shale gas investor, employee, PR agent or someone who will benefit from supplying services/products to the UK shale industry. WHY, with the relentless amount of negative reports against this industry, from some of the world’s most highly respected, leading scientific institutions, you do not want to adopt the precautionary approach until it is proven safe.
With the weight of evidence against this industry, only a madman or someone with strong vested interests would choose to ignore these facts.
Although we may be poles apart regarding what we feel may be the solution to our energy needs. I do feel we are singing from the same hymn sheet when we both acknowledge that something has to be done to secure the future of the UK’s energy supply.
I take note of what you say and respect your comments.
ROY , I take the word MADMAN back from the above post.
I’m sorry, that was an inappropriate word to post on this forum. The word I should of said is, naive .
Regards
Don’t worry Jack,im blessed with a sense of humour,so no harm I know was intended or meant on your part.
Like I said before,i don’t have any investments,or am I any kind of secret PR agent. I just see a great opportunity for us to exploit a god given commodity thats right under our feet.
The carbon footprint to import gas is far greater than it would be if we were to produce our own.Jobs will be created,which brings more taxes for the government and local communities. Nothing about fossil fuels is sexy,only a donut would think that,and yes ,renewables is the way forward,but it’s not enough to bridge the gap till the day that happens.
Gas is the best of the devil we know I’m afraid. Coal has to go for obvious reasons,nuclear I’m totally against because I’d rather have a Fracking pad blow up than have a Chernobyl/Japan on our hands. Wind farms kill birds on migrationary routes as they wizz round and round,plus take years to make their costs back,solar panels need to be made by products from oil and metal like most things,the list goes on and on and on. Its impossible to have energy without messing the world up somehow.The world is sometimes full of devil’s you know.You just got to pick the better of them. For example, do you choose Donald Trump,or do you choose Crooked Hillary Clinton?
It’s certainly been a huge talking point around the country,and really shows how our elders have poisoned us with years and years of fossil burning.
The world is completely and utterly messed up my friend,its beyond any Greenpeace ethos or ambition you will ever hear. We are eating ourselves from within my friend and it’s not going to stop. In my dream world I want clean air,no cars, no pollution, no noise,no tax,no job,no worries bla bla bla,but it’s not a dream world so we must deal with our energy problem and get on with it.
There’s 7 million people in this world,by 2050 it will be 20 billion. That one huge resource eating machine in my eyes.
If you actually want to know what I invest in its Tesla,the brainchild of Elon Musk. Not sure if you heard of Tesla or Elon,but have a look on Google.
There will be a good few Gas powered stations built by 2025 in Britain,so the general public had better get used to it.
Fracking is Coming People,wether we like it or not.
Typo*, obviously it’s 7 billion,not million. Would be so peaceful and clean if it was.lol