Councillors in North Yorkshire have given the green light to the first fracking operation in the UK for five years.
The county council planning committee approved the application by UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at an existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton, between Malton and Pickering.
The fracking application is the first to be approved in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast, in Lancashire, were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.
Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy, said the decision was “not a victory, but is a huge responsibility”.
“We will have to deliver on our commitment, made to the committee and to the people of Ryedale, to undertake this operation safely and without impacting on the local environment,” he said.
Objectors to the controversial application to frack for shale gas in North Yorkshire had told councillors they did not want the county to become known as the “fracking capital of the UK”.
UK onshore oil and gas trade body UKOOG also welcomed the decision.
Spokesman Ken Cronin said: “UKOOG welcomes the decision that has been taken today by North Yorkshire County Council, which helps to dispel many of the misleading claims that have been made about this application, as well as the process of hydraulic fracturing more generally.
“We look forward to Third Energy being able to conduct a test to see how much gas is under this area of North Yorkshire to power and heat homes and businesses.”
People opposed to the application by Third Energy continued to present their arguments against the scheme on the second day of the meeting in Northallerton.
Supporters of the scheme also took to the floor to present their statements yesterday.
John Dewar, operations director of Third Energy, described some of the claims made by objectors as “ludicrous” and addressed safety concerns raised at the meeting on Friday.
He said the company had listened to concerns but questioned whether those objecting to the scheme had read the application. He rejected many anti-fracking arguments as “not valid” and “not true”.
Mr Dewar said one argument about the use of depleted uranium in the fracking process was “the most ludicrous claim”.
He said: “This is not true and simply ridiculous.”
Protesters outside the meeting booed and jeered as Mr Dewar finished making his statement.
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