Decision on Scarborough Gas Drilling Rig Delayed

A Decision on controversial plans for a gas drilling rig at Burniston has been postponed following intervention by the Government.

The Government has said it will examine Europa Oil & Gas’ application for a 38m gas rig in Burniston, near Scarborough, just days before councillors were set to make a decision on the plan which has been recommended for approval.

North Yorkshire Council said it was not in a position to set a new date for the committee until it receives confirmation from the Planning Inspectorate “on whether the application is to be called in”.

A spokesperson for Europa said it was “disappointing” that the meeting had been “unnecessarily postponed”.

They added:

“The planning officers’ recommendation to approve has been submitted following extensive independent assessment to ensure that the local community and environment is not adversely impacted by the proposed drilling actively.”

More than 1,600 local objections have been made against the proposal, citing environmental concerns, while the oil and gas company behind the plan, which proposes using a controversial “proppant squeeze” method to extract the gas, has previously said there is “no justification for delaying a decision on the application”.

The Secretary of State will, in general, only consider the use of his call-in powers if planning issues of more than local importance are involved, according to the Government.

Members of the public who were scheduled to speak at Friday’s planning meeting were informed of the postponement following a request to the council to

“not issue a decision […] pending the Planning Inspectorate’s consideration of a request made by interested parties to the Secretary of State to call in the application.”

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive, Barry Khan, said:

“We can confirm that the strategic planning committee meeting which was due to be held at 1.30pm on Friday, January 30, at Scarborough Town Hall has been postponed.

“The meeting was set for councillors to consider a planning application from Europa Oil and Gas which seeks permission to construct a temporary wellsite to assess the potential for natural gas at a site close to Burniston, near Scarborough.

“A number of interested parties have written to the Planning Inspectorate requesting that the application be called in for determination by the Secretary of State. Yesterday (Wednesday, January 28) we received correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government asking that no decision is issued in this case while the Secretary of State considers these requests.

“The decision to postpone the meeting has been made as a result of this correspondence, as well as discussions with councillors who sit on the strategic planning committee. We will not be in a position to set a new date for the committee until we receive confirmation from the Planning Inspectorate on whether the application is to be called in. 

“As this is a live planning application, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.” 

Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“North Yorkshire Council is right to delay a decision on this deeply controversial fracking scheme while the government is still reviewing its position.

“Fracking blights our countryside, won’t cut UK energy bills and is deeply unpopular with local communities.

“Ministers have promised to ban fracking. That ban must include proppant squeeze, a low-level form of fracking, or communities across large parts of England risk seeing it creep in through the back door.”

​Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said:

"I'm pleased the planning meeting to discuss Europa Oil and Gas' bid to 'Proppant squeeze' in the beautiful village of Burniston has been postponed.

Earlier this week, I made an urgent request to the Secretary of State at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to call-in the application.

I had initially pressed for this planning meeting to be delayed because the consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, which could significantly impact Europa's application, does not close until March.

Because of that, I felt it would have be incredibly helpful if Friday's scheduled meeting was pushed back. It now has been.

Together with the overwhelming majority of residents in Burniston and indeed Scarborough and Whitby as a whole, I am opposed to this drill going ahead and have made my position on that abundantly clear throughout the whole process.

The government is committed to no more drilling and this should allow the application to be considered under the most up-to-date guidance."

​The national developments Ms Hume referred to include the launch of the government’s consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which runs until March 10.

​However, Europa’s CEO, William Holland, previously said that

“taking into account the direction of travel of the new draft NPPF there is no justification for delaying a decision on the application.”

A spokesperson for the company told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):

“The UK continues to consume gas and whilst this continues the socially, environmentally, and economically responsible source of gas is undoubtedly domestically produced gas.”