RE: Cu ft per day29 Jan 2026 11:46
DrillOrDrop has heard that the delay follows multiple local requests for the government to call in the application. This could take the decision out of the hands of North Yorkshire Council.
Last week, council officers recommended the planning application from Europa Oil & Gas should be approved with conditions.
But there were requests for a call-in from Burniston Parish Council, MP Alison Hume, the campaign group Frack Free Coastal Communities and the Scarborough councillor Rich Maw.
We understand North Yorkshire Council was instructed not to approve the application tomorrow until the Planning Inspectorate had considered the call-in requests.
Public speakers at the meeting received an email this morning from the council telling them about the postponement. The email said:
“With the support of members of the Strategic Planning Committee, the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services has taken this course of action in light of a request received yesterday from the Planning Inspectorate to the Local Planning Authority not to issue a decision in respect of application ref: NY/2025/0030/ENV construction of a temporary wellsite near Burniston pending the Planning Inspectorate’s consideration of a request made by interested parties to the Secretary of State to call in the application.”
The meeting had been due to be held at 1.30pm at Scarborough Town Hall. Opponents of the scheme, which included proppant squeeze, a form of lower volume fracking, had planned to lobby councillors outside the meeting.
North Yorkshire Council said a revised date for the committee to consider the application would be arranged “in due course”.
Steve Mason, a member of North Yorkshire Council and campaigner with Frack Free United, said this morning:
“The decision to postpone is very sensible. The conflict between national and local policy makes it impossible for Cllrs to make a sound decision.
“The definition needs to be clarified to capture all types of fracking and close the loopholes that allow gaming of the planning system.
“History provides the evidence: if you are shattering rock under communities to extract fossil fuels, it’s fracking, no matter how much fluid you pump into the ground.”