The council that will decide plans for hydraulic fracturing at Burniston, near Scarborough, has asked the government for more details about its proposed ban on fracking.

Ministers confirmed last month that the government would ban fracking but they did not reveal when or what specific operations would be outlawed. (Details here and here)

The Burniston plans include a proppant squeeze, a lower-volume form of hydraulic fracturing. This is not covered by the moratorium on fracking in England because it does not expect to inject more than the statutory volume of fluid.

Opponents have described this as a loophole in the law that should be closed by the government.

A meeting of North Yorkshire Council heard yesterday that the authority had written to the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, seeking more information on the proposed ban.

Cllr Mark Crane, the executive member for open to business, told the meeting:

“We are currently sitting on an application for hydraulic fracturing in the Scarborough area.

“We anticipate that we need to get it to strategic [planning] committee in the near future.

“As the law presently stands, there is not within the law a reason to refuse – there may be other reasons for refusal.”

He added:

“What we need to know from the minister is whether or not they’re going to do that [ban hydraulic fracturing] soon or whether North Yorkshire will have to make a planning decision on the law as it presently stands.”

Europa Oil & Gas, the company behind the Burniston scheme, has argued that its proppant squeeze is not fracking and there is not a loophole in the law.

But local campaigners have pointed to North Yorkshire’s minerals planning rules. They restrict hydraulic fracturing, which is defined as any operation that fractures rock under hydraulic pressure, regardless of the volume of fracture fluid used.

In the summer, a legal opinion commissioned by Friends of the Earth from Estelle Dehon KC, confirmed that Europa’s proposals qualified as fracking under the North Yorkshire minerals policy.

The legal opinion said North Yorkshire Council must consider its planning policy when determining the Burniston application.

Cllr Crane said the council had written to Mr Miliband last year but he said: “We’ve not had a positive response”.

He said he would inform councillors of the outcome to his latest letter.

• The next meeting of North Yorkshire’s strategic planning committee is on Tuesday 9 December 2025. DrillOrDrop diary