No to fracking in Yorkshire: email the consultation

A dirty energy company wants to frack for shale gas in Ryedale. North Yorkshire Council will be making a decision on this in November – but first they want to know what local people think.

This is our chance to stop fracking in our beautiful Yorkshire. If enough of us email in and object, councillors could block this application and send a clear signal to other companies that fracking is not wanted in Yorkshire, or anywhere else.

You can email the council directly from this page on the 38 Degrees website: https://speakout.38degrees.org.uk/campaigns/fracking-yorkshire-consultation

And if you want more details about the application, or ideas about what to include in your objection, take a look below.

Tips on what to include 

It’s best to personalise your message as much as possible, so please use the any of the messages below that most resonate with you. If you want to read about the application and suggested objection points in greater detail, please visit Frack Free Ryedale’s website, they have loads of useful resources:  http://frackfreeryedale.org/km8/ 

Your story 

You could start by sharing your personal connection to the area – do you live in Yorkshire or visit on holidays? If you live near the proposed fracking site in Kirby Misperton, please state what it is about the application that you are concerned about, e.g. the impact on your village, the impact on local roads and landscape, the potential dangers to water supplies.

If you live elsewhere, you could mention the wider effects that fracking would have on the region, particularly on its reputation as a top tourist destination with a beautiful countryside.

Pollution risks

Chemical-filled water is used in the fracking process, if things go wrong contaminated water could seep into local becks and rivers, harming fish and other aquatic species. Pollutants could also enter the local water network via the site drainage system if there was a spill on the site.

Traffic

The planning application states that there will be at least 910 Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movements and 504 Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) movements in the first eight weeks, making 1,414 traffic movements in total. This traffic will travel through Kirby Misperton village and along country roads, resulting in increased noise and air pollution, and an increased risk of traffic accidents.

Impact on jobs and tourism

The application does not create a single new job for local people, but if fracking is allowed in Ryedale, it could threaten the jobs of thousands of people in the key local industries of tourism and agriculture. This is confirmed in the government’s own Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts Paper, which states: “[fracking] may reduce the number of visitors and tourists in the rural area, with an associated reduction in spend in the local tourism economy.”

Impact on wildlife

Fracking at this site could have a bad affect on the local wildlife living in the area like deer, newts, badgers, barn owls and bats. Depending on the time of year the fracking starts, this could also cause problems with breeding and hibernation.

Noise and light pollution

• The levels of noise at the site during the first two stages will be very much higher than would normally occur in this quiet rural location (up to 90 dB on-site, which is as loud as a nightclub).
• The noise will be very audible within the village, particularly in nearby properties, caravan parks and campsites, and will also carry across country for many miles in all directions (despite the ‘Noise Attenuation Barrier’ – basically a wall of shipping containers – that Third Energy propose to build around the well).
• Work will take place 23 hours a day for the first five months, and will be particularly noisy during the first two months, subjecting local residents to unreasonable disturbance.
• The use of bright lighting during night time work will be intrusive to residents in what is an unlit area, particularly during the autumn and winter months.

Precedent

Allowing fracking at Kirby Misperton, Ryedale could make it harder for the Council to reject future fracking applications as a precedent will have been set. This could open the door to this damaging and destructive industry across other parts of Yorkshire.

Climate change

Fracking is bad for the climate. Fracking is a way to use more gas and oil – both of which pollute the environment, and will run out sometime anyway. The government should be urgently focusing on renewable energy.