Apparent procedural irregularities and widespread opposition over the handling of gas drilling plans has prompted calls for scrutiny of North Yorkshire Council.

Burniston Parish Council has asked North Yorkshire to refer itself for an independent and immediate review into how it processed the controversial plans by Europa Oil & Gas.

A letter to North Yorkshire Council’s chief executive, published today, said:

“The Parish Council, alongside the 1,600+ people who have engaged with this process, has lost confidence in the transparency and procedural integrity of the current handling of this planning application.”

It added:

“In the interests of openness, honesty and transparency and to allay the large-scale public concerns over the handling of planning application NY/2025/0030/ENV, it is imperative that North Yorkshire Council are fully open to scrutiny and if errors are identified, for full public confidence, they are never repeated.”

The letter, by Cllr Richard Parsons, chair of Burniston Parish Council, and Cllr Derek Bastiman, a member of North Yorkshire Council, said:

“Given the scale of the opposition and the apparent procedural irregularities, Burniston Parish Council … request that the Council refers its processes for an immediate external review, by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) or an equivalent independent body into its handling of [the application] NYP/2025/0030/ENV.”

The Burniston planning application for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking had been due to be considered in Scarborough a week ago.

But a day before, the meeting was postponed. The local government department instructed North Yorkshire Council not to make a decision while it considered whether to call in the application.

Five key points

The councillors’ letter identified five key reasons why they said the North Yorkshire Council process should be investigated.

Failure over public comments

The letter said there were problems with the accurate record and display of responses to the public consultation for the application:

“There is clear evidence of a systemic failure in the administration of the planning portal.

“Over the last year some respondents to this application have reported that their formal objections and technical submissions have either not appeared on the public register or have been lost in the transition between systems.”

This violated the council’s statement of community involvement and the public’s statutory right to be heard, the letter said.

A freedom of information request by Burniston Parish Council revealed “a large amount of information” dating from January 2025 to mid November 2025.

But the letter said:

 “This information was not in the public domain”.

The letter said amendments to the planning portal, after the FOI response, did later include much of the information but with “very little time to review and respond” to it before the scheduled planning meeting.

“The wrong form”

The council raised concerns from a resident, reported by DrillOrDrop, about whether Europa Oil & Gas submitted the correct form with its application.

The company used NYPA15, intended for near-surface mineral activity, rather than NYPA17, which should be used for the deep-well appraisal planned and lower-volume fracking, planned at Burniston.

The councillors’ letter said the issues raised by the resident “remained unaddressed” by North Yorkshire Council.

“Technical submissions apparently ignored”

The letter said:

“A significant number of highly technical submissions from environmental experts, geologists, and local stakeholders appear to have been ignored or categorized as “general objections” rather than being treated as material considerations.

“The lack of detailed rebuttal or engagement with these scientific concerns suggests a failure in the Council’s ‘duty to inquire.’”

“Bias in officer’s report”

A report by North Yorkshire planners recommended approval of the application.

But the councillors said this recommendation had been reached “with alarming haste” and with apparent “bias'” and “premature conclusion”. They said:

“The report fails to give due consideration to its own policy, the Minerals and Waste Joint plan, particularly in relation to the proximity of sensitive receptors and overlooks the cumulative impact of 1,600+ objections.”

The report showed 26 June 2025 as its target date, the letter said:

“It is clear that the majority of submissions, post that date, have not been given due consideration. This gives the appearance of pre-determination, suggesting the report was drafted as a justification for a foregone conclusion rather than a balanced assessment.”

Changing legislation

The letter also accused North Yorkshire of showing “scant regard for the rapidly evolving national policy landscape.”

The government intends to ban fracking and remove the “great weight” given in planning decisions to the benefits of fossil fuels.

The letter said:

“To approve this application as recommended by the planning officer now, would be to lock the community into a development that is fundamentally at odds with upcoming statutory guidance and Net Zero obligations.”

Governance standards

The councillors said this was “the perfect moment” for an independent body to test North Yorkshire Council’s planning procedures.

A “high-profile or controversial application” like the Burniston scheme would “serve as a litmus test” for new governance standards at the council, their letter added.

“A self-referral now, would signal a commitment to ‘gold-standard’ transparency with a thorough test as to the required level of independent scrutiny of [the] planning application.”

DrillOrDrop invited North Yorkshire Council to comment to the points made in the letter from Cllr Parsons and Bastiman. The council has not responded but we will update this article if it does.