Cash-strapped county hit by gas plant appeal

Taxpayers in North Yorkshire will have to foot a bill running into hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for a public inquiry which could be held by the end of this year.

Moorland Energy confirmed yesterday the appeal had been lodged with the Planning Inspectorate after North Yorkshire County Council failed to make a decision on the proposed multi-million-pound gas plant.

The company submitted a planning application to County Hall in April last year for the development on the edge of the North York Moors National Park.

Moorland Energy’s chief executive Lawrie Erasmus said: “We have been reluctant to proceed to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the basis of non-determination by the local authorities and would much have preferred the local democratic process to have been completed.

“But we cannot wait indefinitely for the relevant planning authorities to make a decision. We have already invested a considerable amount of time, energy and our shareholders’ money in this project and now need to bring the period of uncertainty to an end.”

The bid to create one of the biggest operations of its kind in the North of England has sparked a wave of opposition amid fears it could ruin some of Yorkshire’s finest countryside.

Moorland Energy has had to revise its own timescale, after privately hoping for a decision by the end of March this year at the latest.

The plant had been initially expected to cost £50m, but it is understood that the price has now begun to escalate significantly because of the delays.

The county council is the main planning authority responsible for deciding if the scheme should be approved, although the North York Moors National Park Authority is also involved.

The well-head would be within the confines of the park, while the main gas plant would be outside near Thornton-le-Dale.

Even though no decision has been made, a public inquiry can still be ordered by the Planning Inspectorate.

It is understood that a hearing could now be held at the end of this year or at the start of next, before a decision is expected to be published by the autumn of 2012.

The legal action comes as the council is battling to slash expenditure to counter cuts in Government funding – the authority is faced with having to make £69m in savings across all its services.

Its executive member for business and environmental services, Gareth Dadd, has previously maintained the planning department has adequate resources at its disposal but declined to comment yesterday as legal proceedings are under way.

A council spokeswoman said: “There is an ongoing exchange of correspondence between the two parties but rather than continue to pursue the application with the council, the applicant has chosen to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.”

The gas plant is aimed at generating enough gas every day to meet the annual energy requirements of up to 1,600 homes.

Moorland Energy has stressed every effort will be made to ensure the proposed development does not impact on the environment. But a campaign group, Against Having Sour Gas in Thornton (Aghast), has collected more than 10,000 signatures on a petition opposing the plans.

The proposed Ryedale Gas Project is expected to bring up to £10m to the local economy over the next two decades, with about 25 permanent posts created once production starts.