Ministers have been urged to close a 'loophole' in the fracking ban.
North Yorkshire council blocks 'mini fracking' site amid growing energy debate
Plans to open a 'mini fracking' site in Burniston, North Yorkshire, were met with outrage from campaigners and residents and were rejected by North Yorkshire Council last month.
Europa Oil and Gas, which put forward the application, said it could extract at least 41billion cubic feet of gas, powering the equivalent of 130,000 homes. The company said it will appeal the council's decision, claiming that mini fracking was 'completely safe'.
But now campaigners are lobbying the Government to close a 'loophole' in the fracking moratorium to include smaller sites such as Burniston.
Fracking was effectively banned in 2019 following a 2.9-magnitude earthquake close to a site in Lancashire.
But a number of mini fracking sites are making their way through England's planning system, including in West Newton in East Yorkshire and Wressle in North Lincolnshire.
Supporters of mini fracking say there has been no evidence of tremors at the sites. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage pledged to introduce a radical cheap-energy policy, including giving the green light for fracking.
Cheap energy, he said, had to be at the heart of any industrial revival - coupled with a dramatic welfare clampdown designed to save money and prod people back into work.
'What I'm talking about is a completely new vision for industry, for jobs and an energy revolution,' Mr Farage said.
Asked if this will include fracking, which was paused by the Conservatives and halted by Labour, he said: 'Yeah, I won't quite make it compulsory, but the North Lincolnshire field - up under the Humber towards Doncaster, in an area with a history of extractive industries - we can have that operational within nine months. Jackdaw (gas field) in the North Sea, within 12 weeks.'
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