6th Jul 2015 12:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - The controversial fracking saga in the UK has turned its attention to Yorkshire where a proposed site is being considered following on from Lancashire County Council's decision to block a proposed site last week, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Cuadrilla Resources had been at the forefront of the fracking argument after it submitted applications to frack two sites in Lancashire, both of which were rejected by councillors on fears of traffic and the industrialisation of the countryside.
Third Energy, a company which has already drilled a well on its Kirby Misperton site near Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, is now hoping to become the first company to frack in the UK since Cuadrilla's well back in 2011.
However, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake, who is also the chairman of Hunters Property PLC, which floated on AIM in June, has already said he would "fight tooth and nail" to ensure that any shale gas development that is given the go-ahead does not happen "in a way that industrialises the countryside" in an argument that echoes clear similarities to Cuadrilla's application.
Hollinrake has suggested that any fracking sites should be separated by six mile "buffer zones" to stop the countryside being overrun, but fracking companies have already said they would want to develop hundreds of sites across shale-rich areas if drilling was successful, the Telegraph said.
Although Hollinrake said he did not believe fracking itself would harm house prices but that "the fear of it" would lower the price of houses in the nearby area.
At a recent meeting in Kirby Misperton, "of about 50 people in attendance, 44 were against fracking and six had an open mind; none was in favour", Hollinrake told the Telegraph.
North York Moors National Park in Yorkshire gave the green light for Sirius Minerals PLC to build the world's largest potash mine last week, despite planning officers not recommending or discouraging the application.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/fracking/11718923/Tory-MP-for-crucial-shale-gas-area-calls-for-fracking-buffer-zones.html
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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