Plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston in North Yorkshire are likely to be decided next month (April).

We understand North Yorkshire Council sent details today to members of its strategic planning committee.

The meeting, which will consider the plans by Europa Oil & Gas plc, is scheduled for Friday 24 April 2026 at 1pm, at Scarborough town hall. Details

The new date is 12 weeks after an original meeting in January 2026 was postponed.

This followed calls by local representatives for the decision to be delayed and made by the government, rather than North Yorkshire Council.

One day before the January meeting, the local government department ordered North Yorkshire to postpone the decision. The department later ruled the decision should be made by the council.

Since the January meeting, Burniston Parish Council and the campaign group, Frack Free Coastal Communities (FFCC), have made formal complaints over North Yorkshire’s handling of the Burniston application.

Earlier this month, Burniston Parish Council chair, Cllr Richard Parsons, accused North Yorkshire officials of at least five failings and apparent procedural irregularity. He said:

“There is, from our community and the wider community, an overwhelming feeling that NYC have failed to independently assess and report on the planning application. There is a loss of confidence in their ability to independently act as they should.”

The council was accused of:

• Failure to accurately record and display public comments online
• Procedural omissions regarding forms NYPA15 and NYPA17
• Intentional marginalization of substantial submissions
• Premature conclusion and bias in the Officer’s Report
• Disregard for shifting legislative and policy frameworks

In January, North Yorkshire planners recommended approval of Europa’s plans. A report to the committee said:

“The application is recommended for approval as it is considered on balance that there are no material planning considerations that warrant its refusal, and there would be no unacceptable adverse environmental impacts resulting from the proposed development.”

But Frack Free Coastal Communities said the planners’ report contained errors that could mislead councillors.

The group also accused officials of failing to

• Respond to relevant communications
• Engage with technical and scientific analysis in expert representations
• Seek clarification from Europa when errors in the application were pointed out during the consultation
• Upload relevant documents and correspondence to the planning register

In a letter in February, the group said:

“These shortcomings in the handling of the planning application and consultation have resulted in a report to the Strategic Planning Committee, which is misleading and contains internal contradictions which, in our view, would make it difficult for elected members to make a properly informed determination.”

Frack Free Coastal Communities said today:

“We are looking forward to putting our case for refusal of planning permission to the Strategic Planning Committee on 24th April. It will be over 18 months since Europa first came to Burniston and Cloughton Village Hall with their glossy misinformation and bland promises that we would not notice the drilling of a gas well on the edge of the village! 

“We will be urging the Council to arrange a new site visit for committee members so that the 12 members who did not visit in January can see for themselves that the site and its surrounds are not as Europa described them in their planning application. Perhaps they’ll also have the chance to visit the recent cliff falls less than half a mile away and mull over the potential impact of drilling and fracking on the obviously fragile Heritage Coast.

“The twelve weeks that will have elapsed since the postponed 30th January meeting have given the planners time to consider the formal complaints that Burniston Parish Council and Frack Free Coastal Communities have made to the Council about how they have handled the planning application and consultation. We hope they have used that time to prepare a revised report to the Committee that addresses the gaps, errors and inconsistencies in the January version. 

“In the meantime, Frack Free Coastal Communities and Frack Free Scarborough will be dusting off the placards prepared for January’s meeting and encouraging supporters to join us outside Scarborough Town Hall on Friday 24th April. In the end, it is up to the 15 Councillors on the Strategic Planning Committee to decide whether the proposals go ahead or not. We will leave them in doubt about the strength of opposition to Europa’s outdated plans to add further fuel to the climate crisis that threatens all of our futures.”