Burniston Parish Council votes unanimously to oppose gas drilling plans near Scarborough

Around 70 residents turned up to the evening meeting of Burniston Parish Council on Tuesday (April 15), with many eagerly waiting to hear how councillors would vote on the controversial application which has seen large demonstrations in recent months.

Despite rapturous applause for the parish council’s unanimous opposition to the application, some residents said continuing uncertainty about the proposal – which is still pending consideration with North Yorkshire Council – had taken a toll on their mental wellbeing.

Last month Europa Oil & Gas officially submitted its application for a 98ft (30m) tall drilling rig on land in Burniston, near Scarborough, as part of its “proppant squeeze” project.

The firm said the site was a “potentially significant gas resource” and, if further approvals were granted, extraction could take place for “about 20 years”.

The company has previously said that a “slurry” would be injected into the well to fracture surrounding rocks, allowing more gas to be recovered.

The technique, which has been described as “small-scale fracking”, has been accused by some of being a loophole in the UK’s moratorium on the fossil fuel extraction process.

At Tuesday’s meeting, residents were given an opportunity to share their views and to ask questions of local representatives.

Steve Illingworth told the meeting he lived “closest to this proposed site – I’m literally 200 yards away”.

He said: “I don’t want to hear, especially from councillors, that they are sitting on the fence, because I have not come across a single person who’s for it, apart from a visit to my home from the owner of the land for this proposed site.”

Another local resident, Jack, said: “I’m 12 years old and possibly the youngest person here.

“The problems just spiral down and down and down. The roads in Scarborough are bad enough already and the lorries are just going to be damaging them even more.”

Proposals submitted by Europa, which include hundreds of pages of documents, state: “As a responsible oil and gas exploration and production business, Europa is highly conscious of its responsibilities and is mindful of the potential risks to people and the environment.

“Any risk of pollution caused by water run-off can be mitigated by using standard techniques that have proven successful at other on-shore sites.”

Its CEO William Holland previously said that “no one’s going to notice” due to the “small volume” of the scheme.

Before voting on the proposal, parish councillors were also given an opportunity to speak and share how they came to their decision.

Councillor Clive Murray said: “I have felt intimidated when I’ve come down to a council meeting with people outside shouting, megaphones and all the rest of it and the placards and I’ve had to wrestle with it and think how many people in the village don’t want to make their approval of it known?

“Is anybody really going to come into this room and stand up and say ‘hey, I’m for this’?

He added: “I just want to make sure that everybody understands I’ve considered every angle and I’m against it.”

Chair of the council, Coun Richard Parsons, said he had only spoken to two residents who were in favour of the scheme and in coming to its decision, councillors had considered a lengthy report that covered all aspects of the plan.

The parish council’s opposition to the scheme and its report will be published and sent to North Yorkshire Council which has not yet set a date for deciding on the proposal.

Europa Oil and Gas has been contacted for a comment.