Local Campaigners Vow to Fight North Yorkshire Council's Fracking Plans

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Opponents of fracking in the United Kingdom have vowed to continue fighting North Yorkshire County Council plans to start drilling for shale gas at the Kirby Misperton site in the district of Ryedale, local media said Tuesday.

On Monday, North Yorkshire councilors voted on the Third Energy company's plans to extract shale gas in the region as anti-fracking protesters gathered outside the council building. The motion was passed by a margin of seven to four.

“As a result of that vote up there I’m afraid I see Ryedale is doomed unless we fight every single application that comes forward with the same passion as you fought this…I’m only sorry my fellow councillors didn’t listen to you but some of us did and we totally supported what you were trying to do, make Ryedale free from fracking," Councillor John Blackie told protesters gathered outside the council building, The Yorkshire Post newspaper reported.

Third Energy rejected protesters' claims of possible harmful effects of fracking on water, farming, tourism and the environment. Company CEO Rasik Valand said that regulatory bodies have not objected to the plans, adding that opponents have put forward a number of fallacies regarding the effects of the proposed plans.

​Third Energy submitted an application to extract shale gas in the Ryedale district in May 2015. If granted permission to proceed,  it will be the first use of fracking technology in the United Kingdom since 2011, when the extraction method caused two earth tremors in the area.

The practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been repeatedly slammed by environmental activists and some policymakers, who claim that it leads to water contamination. The UK government has backed fracking, arguing that it provides employment, growth and energy security. In late April, a UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) poll revealed that support for fracking among the public has fallen to the lowest levels wince 2012, standing at 19 percent.