Company to submit hydraulic fracking plans

An oil and gas firm has said it is preparing to submit a formal planning application to drill for gas near the North York Moors National Park.

Europa Oil & Gas has told residents in Burniston near Scarborough it will make the application to North Yorkshire Council for its hydraulic fracking project, which would including a 30m (98ft) drilling rig.

The company had aimed to submit its plans last year, but has faced opposition from residents and politicians concerned about the environmental impact.

Chief executive William Holland said that if successful, the project would bring economic and job benefits and would "lower emissions by developing our domestic gas".

The "proppant squeeze" or hydraulic fracking project would test whether gas could be extracted on a commercially viable basis.

The project could take up to 17 weeks and see more than 1,000 HGV movements, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

If the company deemed the gas reserves financially viable, it could then seek to drill up to five wells to be extracted over 10 years or more subject to planning approval.

However, concerns have been raised about the environmental impacts, as well as the impact on roads due to HGVs moving materials, and house prices.

A drop-in information session in Burniston, which was organised by the company last September, was attended by more than 100 people opposed to the plans.

In a recent leaflet sent to residents, Europa said it had "received feedback that a combination of the weather and the protesters may have dissuaded some locals from attending the [drop-in session]".

It said it wanted to offer residents the chance to ask questions about the potential gas field development and people could ask for "a meeting, either online or at your home address".

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.