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HUNDREDS of anti-fracking campaigners staged a protest rally in North Yorkshire yesterday as councillors considered an application to extract gas in an area of beautiful countryside.
The application by British company Third Energy is a key one for the district of Rydale in North Yorkshire. The picturesque rural area has been earmarked by the Tory government for 19 fracking sites, each of which would have 10 to 50 drilling wells with 120-foot-high rigs.
If the application for gas extraction near the village of Kirby Misperton receives the green light, it could clear the way for approval of the others.
No fracking has taken place in Britain since 2011, when tests in Fylde, Lancashire, were identified as the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.
Fracking involves pumping water and chemicals at high pressure into rock layers to release gas.
Opponents say it can contaminate water aquifers and cause earth tremors as well as bringing noise and traffic problems.
Outside the county hall in Northallerton, where the application was being debated yesterday, local resident and protester Adela Pickles said: “What has been really beautiful today is that people from Lancashire have brought red roses, Yorkshire people had white roses and there was a wonderful feeling of camaraderie.”
She told the Morning Star that one argument employed by fracking supporters against environmental campaigners was: “If you live locally you’re a ‘nimby,’ (not in my back yard). If you’re not local, it’s none of your business.”
Sarah Houlston, whose farm is near the proposed site, said: “We have got a borehole … which supplies water for the livestock. We’re really concerned about pollution of the aquifer. We could lose our livestock if they drink contaminated water.”
Steve Mason, who lives at Great Habton, a mile from the site, said: “My main problem is ideological. It is in the Tory manifesto even though they know it is wrong.
“Amber Rudd (Secretary of State for Energy) needs to back down and admit it: ‘We have dropped a clanger’.”
The hearing continues on Monday.
