Fracking: How will it affect you?
What’s your view on the fracking controversy?
This week The Scarborough News spotlights the issue in a six-page report as the government gets set to announce its decision on the area’s shale gas drilling plans.
Third Energy is awaiting approval to begin extracting gas at its site near Pickering – with public protests over the past year extending to Whitby against a scaffolding company, and to Scarborough, where some homes are displaying anti-fracking banners.
Meanwhile, another company, Ineos Shale, intends to carry out drilling beneath the North York Moors national park and also parts of Ryedale.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling vertically to a depth of upto 5km and then horizontally, blasting down a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break open the shale rock and release natural gas.
Vertical drilling is banned in national parks – but companies can site wells outside the boundary and then “frack” horizontally beneath the park.
As our graphic on page 15 shows, a patchwork of drilling licences, awarded by the government, covers much of North Yorkshire. Consequently, anti-fracking groups have been formed in many areas, including Scarborough, although most areas have no activity yet.
Those against fracking claim it can lead to health, climate and environmental problems, and that the country should move away from fossil-fuel use.
The fracking companies say it is essential in providing the UK with gas for the next 50 years and alternatives such as solar and wind power are not yet viable to meet the demand.
North Yorkshire County Council gave Third Energy the go-ahead at its KM8 well at Kirby Misperton, near Pickering, in 2016. The final decision currently rests with Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The decision is due imminently, and would mean a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the first commercial fracking in the UK since 2011, when two earth tremors caused by drilling near Blackpool led to a one-year ban on the practice.
ABEISdepartmentspokesperson said: “Shale gas has the potential to be a home-grown energy source which can lead to jobs and economic growth, contribute to our security of supply, and help us achieve our climate change objectives.
“We have been clear that shale development in the UK must be safe and environmentally sound and we have a strong regulatory system in place.” It is thought that Third Energy has satisfied the 13 Hydraulic Fracturing Consent conditions that must be met under the Infrastructure Act 2015, but Mr Clark will also take into consideration the prevailing public mood to fracking; figures show that support for drilling has declined over the past five years.
Fracking has been suspended in the UK by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved governments, and banned in countries such as France, Ireland and the Netherlands; although the industry has transformed energy provision in the US, where there are around one million wells.
The tiny village of Kirby Misperton – population around 370 – has been thrust into the forefront of the fracking debate for the past year as protesters have tried to delay and disrupt fracking preparation such as lorry movements, with each side constantly tracking and recording the activities of the other. Protesters have climbed on lorries and equipment – even up a drilling rig – as well as holding peaceful rallies and vigils.
Similar could be seen elsewhere in the county as Ineos Shale, which has most exploration licences in England, intends this year to carry out consultations and survey work in the Wolds south of Malton and in the southern fringe of the North York Moors national park – “Heartbeat country”.
However, the company has, since July, taken out injunctions which prohibit unlawful actions such as trespass, intimidation and obstruction around any of its sites, in a move designed to prevent a repeat of scenes such as those at Kirby Misperton.
Areas it intends to survey and explore include Malton and Norton, Settrington, Welburn, Whitwell on the Hill, Kirby Grindalythe and Sledmere.
An Ineos Shale spokesperson said: “In the case of our proposed survey work in North Yorkshire we have met with North Yorkshire County Council to consult council officers on our plans. We are committed to being open and approachable and carrying out genuine two-way dialogue with consultees from individuals to councils.
“No fracking sites will ever be located in the national park, however horizontal drilling could take place underneath the park from drill sites outside. This drilling will not impact the park and is consistent with the safe and proven nature of shale extraction.”
Jim Tucker, from Frack Free Ryedale, said: “With so many PEDL licences already in the hands of companies like Ineos there is no-one across the county who won’t be affected by this hugely damaging industry.
“We have a growing body of evidence on the harmful impact of the industry on public health, the environment, local business including agriculture and tourism and, most recently, the effect on house prices when the frackers move in.
“Everyone needs to wake up to the overwhelming damage that fracking will do to their local community – we urge them to join our campaign against the industry.”
The National Parks Association opposes fracking. A spokesperson said: “The fact that fracking itself will still be able to take place in the geology of the national park means that public concerns surrounding potential groundwater contamination, seismic activity and faulting and the use of chemicals do not appear to be addressed.”
National Parks England chairman Jim Bailey said: “These places should be the last, not the first place that developers should prospect.”
The North York Moors National Park Authority said the park “is a specially-protected place for good reason. As the guardians of this magnificent landscape, its habitats, wildlife and tranquillity, the authority remains firmly against fracking for shale gas beneath the National Park. We need to consider the area’s long-term interests”.