YP Letters: Local anger at Kirby Misperton fracking camp

I TAKE issue with your recent article “The front line in the campaign to halt fracking in Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton” (The Yorkshire Post, January 31), and also your description of Lorraine Allanson from Pickering as a “lone campaigner” in favour of UK shale gas in Yorkshire.

There are hundreds of local people in Ryedale outraged at the antics of the tiny minority of eco-extremists that have invaded Kirby Misperton, set up an illegal camp in the midst of Ryedale and are causing massive disruption to the rural community here.

Not all local people are in favour of fracking, having been terrified by the unscientific and outrageous claims of the extremists, but that many despise the incomers is pretty clear.

Why else would our local Tory MP – an explicit advocate for shale gas – gain an increased majority in the recent General Election? A result which ran against the national mood against the Conservatives!

So it is highly spurious of your article to paint a picture as if the incoming extremists are friendly locals engaged in a “peaceful” campaign.

The reality is that there are a handful of vocal locals involved in the “anti” campaign because of their Green worldview; but the majority just want to get on with our lives and be left alone.

In reality, most locals despise the anarchists who resort to intimidation and bullying of anyone who speaks out in favour of UK shale gas or Third Energy.

I have stood up myself in favour of fracking in Ryedale and had my own tourism business attacked for many months on Facebook and Twitter.

But being local and a Yorkshireman, the southern anarchists can stuff themselves if they think local people can be pushed around by bullies.

You really ought to take a much more firm stance against the antics of the anti-fracking mobsters in our midst.

From: Michelle Easton, Kirby Misperton Protection Camp.

AS the Kirby Misperton Protection Camp’s longest-haired member, I would like to extend a warm invitation to columnist Sarah Todd (The Yorkshire Post, January 27) and her fellow Nimbys to join us for our next candle-lit vigil at the gates to KM8 tomorrow (Sunday, February 4) at 5pm.

This is a time when we gather as a community and if the prospect of meeting us ‘seasoned protestors’ or having to face the police makes you nervous, be reassured that on Sunday evenings there are no vehicle movements, so the police presence is minimal or non-existent.

I don’t blame you for hesitating about really looking into the fracking industry, everyone involved in the campaign began by simply googling something like ‘fracking and health’.

After a long time hearing about fracking, it was only last June that I really delved into the research. The result was that I left my job (as a Press officer for a charity promoting sustainable agriculture) and moved onto KMPC in August.

If it is how fracking threatens food security and farming that most concerns you, we can put you in touch with farmers already engaged in the campaign.

Or perhaps you’d like to talk to other mothers about their experiences of getting involved in the anti-fracking community?

Don’t let it be fear of the unknown that keeps you from learning more.

Do find time to come and see us. All are welcome – especially fierce redheads.

From: Jane Marsh, Rawcliffe Lane, York.

I HAVE heard that you are taking an interest in the fact that the people of Ryedale have been overruled in their opposition to fracking at Kirby Misperton.

If this is allowed to happen, it will be a disaster for everyone in Ryedale and the whole country. Fracking is a horrible industry on so many fronts.

To start with there is the risk to the health of people, animals, water and the land.

There is also the question of climate change and the fact that fossil fuels should be left in the ground and green energy used instead.

From: Wendy Cross, Beverley.

I LARGELY admired GP Taylor’s comprehensive piece (The Yorkshire Post, January 31) against fracking.

He was, however, wrong and disrespectful to label the women who protested against the siting of American missiles on British soil as ‘the rent-a-mob of the Greenham Common unwashed’.

They, too, were ‘pensioners, concerned parents, ordinary people’.

Please go to the gates of the KM8 site and protest, Mr Taylor, if you haven’t already done so.

The frack free movement needs you and the many others who will be inspired by your article.

From: David Bentley, Pickering.

Many thanks for covering the issue of fracking so comprehensively. When I venture out onto the Queen’s Highway, I am obliged to have insurance.

My employers, similarly, had to have cover for employees, visitors and neighbouring businesses. What are the requirements for the frackers to have the same?

From: AD Sutcliffe, Calver, Hope Valley, Derbyshire.

WOULD it be practical to put solar panels on the central reservations on motorways? It would certainly create a lot of power in the UK. Also all new builds should