Fracking legal aid plea is abandoned

A proposal which would have asked a North Yorkshire council to help cover the costs of a legal challenge to block fracking has been withdrawn.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jun 2016, 16:07 BST
Updated 29th Jun 2016, 17:08 BST
Protesters outside Northallerton County Hall on the day the Third Energy fracking application was approved by North Yorkshire County Council.Protesters outside Northallerton County Hall on the day the Third Energy fracking application was approved by North Yorkshire County Council.
Protesters outside Northallerton County Hall on the day the Third Energy fracking application was approved by North Yorkshire County Council.

The motion, which was due to be tabled by two Ryedale District councillors, had called for the authority to consider setting aside funds towards the cost of a judicial review to try and block North Yorkshire County Council’s controversial decision to allow fracking at a test site in Kirby Misperton.

In a statement last week, the county council said its legal team was considering a pre-action letter it had received from Friends of the Earth, who campaigned against Third Energy’s planning application.

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Ryedale District Council also opposed the plans as part of the county council’s consultation process, and last week, councillors Paul Andrews and Ed Jowitt said they would be tabling their motion at a meeting of the authority on July 7.

Coun Andrews said that the motion had now been withdrawn but he declined to comment any further on the matter.

Related topics:North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire County Council