Many residents who attended an information meeting about gas drilling in a North Yorkshire village said they were unconvinced about the plans.

Egdon Resources hosted the event today in Foxholes, near Driffield, as part of its community consultation for an exploration well.

The company said 57 people attended the four-hour session. Of those, some were campaigners against oil and gas sites in other parts of England.

The event was designed to address any local  concerns. But afterwards one person said:

“There are more questions than answers at the moment.”

One person described the scheme as “tosh, really”.

Another said:

“I went in really, really anti it. I am still anti. It only takes one cock up and it can go to hell in a handcart”.

Another said:

“I am really struggling but I am still against it. It is not a question of ‘not in my back yard’. It is a question of environmental responsibility.”

Another person described the proposal as a “foot in the door” for further drilling in the area.

The Foxholes site is about 15 miles from Burniston, where Europa Oil & Gas is seeking permission for gas drilling and a form of fracking.

Egdon repeated today:

“there will not be any ‘fracking’ here either now or in the event of any future longer-term production.”

But some information provided at the event lacked detail on key issues

The company declined to do an interview with DrillOrDrop and was unable to answer some of our questions.

“Bad idea”

DrillOrDrop asked people at the event for their reaction to the plans.

One told us:

“I have yet to meet anyone in the village who is delighted by this. We all moved here for a quiet life.”

Another said:

“I think you would be crazy if you were not worried.”

“No benefits”

Residents of Foxholes, which has no mains gas, questioned what the benefit would be for them. One said:

“We will not get the gas. The only benefit here will be to the landowner.”

Another said:

“I asked how it will benefit the community. They said they had provided sports kit [in another village].”

One person said they were “uneasy” about Egdon’s owner, the Texas-based Heyco Group.

“I think it is a really bad idea. Your whole life could be turned upside down because an American company wants to drill here.”

We asked Egdon about community benefits. A company spokesperson said:

“This is an exploration well so no community benefit is planned for this stage.  However, if the site goes into full production following this exploratory drilling process (which would be subject to a separate planning application) then a voluntary community fund would be implemented based on revenues from the operation. The Wressle Oil Community fund is a good example of this in operation.”

On jobs, the spokesperson said:

“In exploration this is a relatively low number but there would be jobs in the construction of the well pad and in roles such as security.”

We also asked what plans the company had for a community liaison group if the drill site went ahead. The spokesperson said:

“We have community liaison groups for all our exploratory and production sites. Members are ideally those who represent the local community or have audience of some kind. So, for example, we might invite headteachers, parish vicars, ward councillors, village shop owners and the like.”

Pollution fears

Several people told DrillOrDrop they were concerned about Egdon’s plans to drill through the chalk aquifer. The site is also close to a rare chalk stream that flows when ground water is high, residents reported.

One person said:

“The big concern is contamination of the water supply. I am not 100 per cent reassured by them.”

Another said:

“I don’t like fracking. It can cause water contamination.”

DrillOrDrop asked for a geological section of the well or details of the strata through which the well would be drilled.

Egdon’s spokesperson said this was “not available at this time as the team is at consultation”.

Several people mentioned a risk of noise and light pollution.

One said a lot of people worked from home and could be disturbed by operations at the site.

We asked Egdon what would be the noise level during drilling at the nearest home. The spokesperson said:

“The noise thresholds for day and night will be set out in the conditions of any planning consent but our modelling shows noise at the nearest receptor would be well below those applied elsewhere such as at Wressle [an Egdon-operated oil site in North Lincolnshire].”

House sales and views

Several people suggested the proposal would make it harder to sell homes. One person asked:

“Would you buy a house in this village knowing what is coming? I wouldn’t.”

Another person said the proposal could not have come at a worse time for their family

There were also concerns about the interruption of views from the village over open countryside.

We asked for details, not given at the event, of the rig height (38m), flare stack height (not answered) and well depth (1,100m true vertical depth).

The company said an assessment concluded that the visual impact of the rig “may be significant” but it would “only be for a temporary and short-term period”.

Egdon has estimated that site construction, drilling, testing, suspension and restoration would take about six months. But the company told us:

“We will be applying for three years as the standard that councils grant for this kind of development.”

Traffic

Egdon has estimated the six-month operation at Foxholes would generate more than 650 lorry journeys to the site and 650 return trips.

Some local people were concerned about the route that these heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) would take.

The event information said only:

“All HGVs will travel to and from the A64 to the north.”

We asked if HGVs would be routed through Foxholes and/or over Staxton Hill, a 17.5 percent hill with an escape lane and instructions to drive in low gear.

Egdon’s spokesperson said the HGVs would be routed:

“Through Foxholes which is an approved HGV route”.

“Rubbish process”

There was also criticism at the meeting of the planning system. One person said:

“This is a rubbish process – that a landowner can say to a developer you can do what you like with my land even if it has an impact on the whole community.”

Another said:

“I am not confident about North Yorkshire Council looking at this in detail.”

The site is close to the council boundary with East Yorkshire. One person asked:

“Where is East Yorkshire? They should be here.”

Passionate about plans

Several people said the Egdon representatives at the meeting were “passionate” about the proposal.

But one said:

“They are trying very hard to convince people that it will be ok.”

Another described the event as “whitewash”:

“I think they are telling you what they want you to hear.”

One said the company should use its skills to develop green energy.

What happens next?

Egdon has a consultation on its proposal that runs until 13 June 2025. People can take part online at egdon-community.com

DrillOrDrop asked the company for an example of when one of its consultations had resulted in changes to a planning application. The company’spokesperson said:

“Our most recent consultation was in November 2023 at the Wressle site near Scunthorpe and we did not receive any objections or suggestions for change.

“Historically we have amended lighting proposals during operation when there was a comment from a nearby householder.”

The company’s consultation does not replace the formal public consultation, which will be organised by North Yorkshire Council after a planning application has been submitted.

Egdon said it aimed to submit the application in the week starting 7 July 2025. Based on this date, the target for the council’s decision would be late October 2025.

Foxholes and Butterwick Parish Council is holding a special meeting on the drilling plans on Tuesday 17 June 2025 at 7pm at Foxholes Community Hall. People who cannot attend can email their views to the parish council clerk at foxholesbutterwickpc@outlook.com