Europa Oil & Gas has lodged an appeal against the rejection of its plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston in North Yorkshire.

A formal announcement was posted on Burniston’s village notice board this morning. It comes more than 24 weeks after North Yorkshire Council refused the company’s planning application.

The appeal, which is likely to be decided by a government-appointed planning inspector, had been expected.

Europa had until Friday 13 November 2026 to submit its challenge.

At the time of writing, Europa had not issued a formal notice to the stock market.

DrillOrDrop will report separately on reaction to the appeal.

Europa had previously said it was “disappointed with the LPA’s [local planning authority’s] decision and strongly disagrees with the basis of the refusal”. It had said it was “confident that on appeal the planning permission will be approved”.

North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee refused the application, against the advice of officials, on five grounds:

• Harm to the heritage coast and landscape
• Proximity of the site to homes and amenities
• Harm to the setting of the North York Moors National Park
• Impact on tourism and lack of economic gain
• Conflict with the council’s climate commitments

The Burniston proposal has been strongly opposed locally and nationally.

All the local parish and town councils had objected and more than 1,600 individuals objected to the planning application. Other opponents included Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Salby and Newby Village Trust, Frack Free Coastal Communities, Frack Free Scarborough, Frack Free Ryedale, North Yorkshire Moors Association, CPRE and Friends of the Earth.

Since the North Yorkshire planning decision, the government has revised the rules for onshore oil and gas in England.

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the planning blueprint for decisionmakers, made the following key changes in August 2026:

• Removed a requirement to give “great weight” to the economic benefits of onshore oil and gas proposals
• Removed a previous requirement to “plan positively” for onshore oil and gas developments
• Introduced a new policy to refuse onshore oil and gas extraction proposals except in defined circumstances

Europa has separately applied for an environmental permit for the Burniston operation.

In August, the Environment Agency, which issues permits, said it was minded to approve the company’s application.

Local people have urged the EA to reconsider its draft decision. They have also criticised errors and missing information in the EA’s draft decision documents and what has been described as a close working relationship with Europa. A formal complaint has been made about the Burniston permit process.