MP to meet residents near site for gas plant

She will visit Thornton Dale Village Hall between 11.30am until 1pm to discuss a number of issues, including the proposed gas facility in Ryedale.

She was especially keen to hear their concerns as she is meeting Lawrie Erasmus, Chief Executive of Moorland Energy, on Monday.

His company wants to build a small gas processing facility on a proposed site (2.2 hectares) which is currently farmland off Hurrell Lane to the east of Thornton Dale and south-east of Wilton.

The scheme follows exploratory drilling at Ebberston which revealed enough reserves to make extraction viable.

Coun Geoff Acomb, who represents the Thornton Dale ward on Ryedale Council, said: "I will be going down to meet her. Mood is difficult to gauge.

"One or two pressure groups are setting themselves up. The parish council has received a letter from two people opposed to it. But otherwise I have not had any comments.

"Some are not particularly concerned. Others are concerned it will be placed in a rural area. I am not getting feedback that the whole community is against it but these pressure groups may bring it more out into the open."

Moorland Energy, an independent onshore oil and gas exploration and production company, is consulting the public about the proposals in the countdown to a planning application this spring.

The scheme also includes a new access road from the A170 to Hurrell Lane and a 100-metre underground pipeline running south to Britain's mains gas network, which already runs under the area.

The company plans to begin construction during 2011 to become fully operational by early 2013, producing gas for an estimated five to eight years.

Some 20 permanent and 150 temporary jobs would be created during construction, with recruitment targeted at the local area, according to Mr Erasmus.