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Landmark North Yorkshire fracking vote to take place Landmark North Yorkshire fracking vote approved
(about 7 hours later)
Councillors will decide later whether to approve fracking in England for the first time since a ban was lifted in 2012. An application to carry out fracking in England for the first time since a ban was lifted in 2012 has been approved.
North Yorkshire County Council is looking at a bid by Third Energy to extract shale gas at a site near Kirby Misperton in Ryedale. North Yorkshire County Council considered a bid by Third Energy to extract shale gas at a site near Kirby Misperton in Ryedale.
Hundreds of protestors attended a meeting in Northallerton to voice anger at the project, which is recommended for approval. Hundreds of protestors had attended a meeting in Northallerton to voice anger at the project, which was previously recommended for approval.
Voting is due to begin at 19:30 BST. Councillors on the council's planning committee voted 7-4 in favour.
Live updates from today's meetingLive updates from today's meeting
The meeting, which is being broadcast online, heard a number of further objections from opponents on Monday morning, while Third Energy's chief executive, Rasik Valand, will address the committee later. The meeting has heard a number of objections from people opposed to the plans.
Supporters including landowners, farmers and Third Energy employees also had their say.
Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at rock to release the gas inside.Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at rock to release the gas inside.
Opponents say it can cause water contamination, earthquakes and noise and traffic pollution.Opponents say it can cause water contamination, earthquakes and noise and traffic pollution.
Environmentalists also say that pursuing new sources of gas - a fossil fuel - is not compatible with efforts to tackle climate change. Immediately after the vote, North Yorkshire Police tweeted a warning to protesters.
During the hearing, local brewer Kyle Boot raised concerns about the impact of fracking on businesses in Ryedale. It read: "Please be aware, the police will take action against unlawful behaviour linked to the #nyshale protest."
Media frenzy After the decisionm, campaigners gathered outside County Hall in Northallerton chanting "we say no".
Mr Boot said: "To introduce fracking in Rydale could at the very least alter public perceptions about our local beer and an actual contamination of our water supply would be disastrous." Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy said the approval meant the firm now had "a huge responsibility".
He said having the area become know as the "fracking capital of the UK" was not something "we would want to be seen as pioneering in". "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.
Third Energy's operations director John Dewar said the company was committed to operating the well safely and questioned whether many of the objectors had properly read the planning application and supporting documents. Campaign group Frack Off said: "These plans could pave the way for thousands of fracking wells to spread across Yorkshire and many other parts of the country if not stopped.
He said: "Our company mantra is 'if something can't be done safely then it does not get done at all'. "Impacts, including pipelines, air pollution and waste disposal will spread far beyond the areas being drilled.
"If this application had been for a conventional drill I'm quite sure it would not have attracted the same level of public and media attention. "Third Energy's plans in Ryedale are the thin end of a very large wedge."
"By just listening to the [objectors'] concerns, I can tell very few were referring to the application itself, which raises the question whether they have read the actual planning application."
He went on to say he had spoken with a number of local residents who said they supported the local gas industry but were "scared" to say so publicly.
No fracking has taken place in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.No fracking has taken place in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.
Since then, two high-profile applications to frack in Lancashire have been rejected by councillors and are now the subject of appeals.Since then, two high-profile applications to frack in Lancashire have been rejected by councillors and are now the subject of appeals.
Third Energy wants to frack for shale gas using an existing two-mile deep well - called KM8 - drilled in 2013 close to the North York Moors National Park. If approved, it could start by the end of the year. Third Energy wants to frack for shale gas using an existing two-mile deep well - called KM8 - drilled in 2013 close to the North York Moors National Park. They could start by the end of the year.
Earth tremor Andy Mortimer, the company's subsurface director, told the committee fracking at Kirby Misperton was "highly unlikely to cause any sort of earth tremor", describing the area as "seismically benign"
The firm has licences to produce gas in North Yorkshire and offshore in the North Sea. He said Third Energy would operate a safety system that would halt operations if a seismic event measuring above 0.5 on the Richter Scale occurred, adding that "trains cause seismic signals several orders of magnitude greater than our proposed threshold".
Andy Mortimer, Third Energy's subsurface director, told the committee fracking at Kirby Misperton was "highly unlikely to cause any sort of earth tremor", describing the area as "seismically benign" The firm already had licences to produce gas in North Yorkshire and offshore in the North Sea.
He said any faults discovered in the area were about 250 million years old but added that KM8 had been drilled a "safe distance" away from any of these faults.
He said the company would operate a safety system that would halt operations if a seismic event measuring above 0.5 on the Richter Scale occurred, adding that "trains cause seismic signals several orders of magnitude greater than our proposed threshold".