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| North Yorkshire fracking vote: Council approves fracking in Ryedale | North Yorkshire fracking vote: Council approves fracking in Ryedale |
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| Councillors have approved an application to carry out fracking in England for the first time since 2012. | |
| The North Yorkshire County Council planning committee voted seven to four in favour of an application by UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas near the village of Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire. | |
| The application is the first to be approved in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast, Lancashire, were found to have been a probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area. | |
| The application was passed despite the presence of hundreds of protestors, who gathered outside County Hall in Northallerton throughout the hearing which began on Friday. | |
| Councillors were informed there had been 4,375 letters of objection and 36 of support for the application. | |
| The hearing began with Peter Sowray, the planning committee chairman, admitting: “This is by far the most controversial application we have ever had to deal with." | |
| The decision has been called a "travesty" by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth. | |
| Simon Bowens, Yorkshire and Humber campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said: "This is an absolute travesty of a decision but the battle is very far from over. | |
| “Today 7 out of 11 North Yorkshire county councillors voted to approve this fracking application in Ryedale, ignoring the objection of Ryedale District Council itself, as well as thousands of local residents and businesses. | |
| "Despite this decision, public support for fracking is plummeting as Wales, Scotland and countries across Europe have suspended it. The risks to people’s health and the environment are unacceptable and we will fight on.” | |
| The plan, which had previously been recommended for approval, will utilise a two-mile deep well drilled in 2013, over which a 120ft-high drilling rig will be established. | |
| In response to the decision, Councillor Andrew Cooper, Green Party Energy Spokesperson, said: “North Yorkshire County Council has let down the people of Kirby Misperton by passing this application for fracking today. | |
| "The Green Party will continue to stand by local communities under threat from fracking operations and we will strongly oppose any attempts by central government to impose fracking against the will of local people.” | |
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