Councillors to debate fracking request as decision day looms

Ryedale councillors will consider on Tuesday whether they want the application to use the controversial mining method at Kirby Misperton to go-ahead.

The final decision will be made by North Yorkshire County Council which is expected to hold a special planning meeting next month.

A report prepared for members of Ryedale Council’s planning committee does not include a recommendation on whether councillors should support or oppose the application at this stage although one might be made ahead of the meeting.

Energy business Third Energy first applied to frack at Kirby Misperton in July and the decision should have been taken last year.

However, the process has been repeatedly delayed for the energy company to provide the county with more information.

The latest extension agreed with Third Energy gives the county until April 29 to reach a decision.

When Ryedale Council was last asked for its view on the application, members of the planning committee called on the county to oppose it on the grounds of the potential damage to local heritage, particularly a grade II listed bridge nearby.

The report for next week’s meeting includes concerns from the council’s economy and community manager about the potential impact on a proposed cycle route between Malton and Pickering.

It suggests that HGVs connected to the fracking operation on local roads “will have a detrimental effect upon the rural character and therefore attractiveness of the route – particularly to less confident cyclists, including younger families.”

However, the report also says that the fracking plans will not have a “significant impact” on the air quality experienced by those living nearby.

It also tells councillors that it is unlikely that the application can be opposed on the grounds of the noise the process will generate.

The report recommends a series of conditions North Yorkshire should be asked to impose on the energy firm including limits on HGV movements and restriciting fracking to Monday to Saturday.

The county council is under pressure to reach a decision on the application as the Government has threatened to intervene where authorities are believed to be deliberately dithering.

Lancashire County Council has previously refused an application to frack at two sites along the Fylde coast.

Those refusals are now the subject of a planning inquiry with Communities Secretary Greg Clark having already indicated he will make the final decision.

The controversial nature of fracking, which sees water, sand and chemicals forced at high pressure into rock formations deep underground to free gas deposits, makes it likely the Kirby Misperton decision will be the subject of national attention.

The Government argues fracking could improve the country’s energy security by reducing dependence on overseas sources of oil and gas as well as creating jobs and tax revenues.

But anti-fracking campaigners claim the process poses serious risks to the environment and is hugely wasteful of water.

Environmentalists also argue that tapping new sources of energy delays the development of more sustainable techology and adds to greenhouse gas emissions.