North Yorkshire Council urged to reject fracking application near Scarborough

• Planning Committee to discuss controversial ‘proppant squeeze’ low-volume fracking application on Friday 24 April 
• Leading geologist warns the threat of earthquakes from high and low volume fracking “equally large and equally unpredictable”.
• More ‘proppant squeeze’ applications in the pipeline
• Burniston application opposed by Reform-led local council and local Labour MP, and has had over 1,600 local resident objections
• Local group, Frack Free Coastal Communities have organised a demonstration on Friday, ahead of council meeting.. Friends of the Earth spokespeople will also attend

North Yorkshire Council is being urged to reject a highly controversial planning application that would allow fracking to take place at a site near Scarborough.

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee are meeting on Friday 24 April 2026 to discuss an application by Europa Oil and Gas to use a lower volume fracking technique, known as ‘proppant squeeze’, to explore and test for gas at Burniston near Scarborough.

The planning application highlights a gaping loophole in the current fracking moratorium which allows some types of fracking to go ahead, including low-volume fracking. Earlier this year a proppant squeeze proposal was permitted at West Newton in East Yorkshire, and another application is expected at Wressle in North Lincolnshire [1].

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting oil and gas by pumping liquids deep underground at high pressures to create or widen fractures in the rock to release the fossil fuel trapped inside.

Earlier this month Friends of the Earth published new research from leading geologist Professor Stuart Haszeldine of the University of Edinburgh, warning that the evidence from analysis of the seismic activity triggered by Cuadrilla’s fracking at Preston New Road in Lancashire in 2019 and from Preese Hall in 2011, shows that earthquakes from high-volume fracking and low-volume fracking are “equally large and equally unpredictable”.  Professor Haszeldine’s report is here – and a summary is here.

Indeed, the volumes of fluid proposed for use at Burniston are higher than those used by Cuadrilla in the week leading up to the highest recorded earthquake at Preston New Road in 2019 – and which led to the current moratorium on high volume fracking [2].

The government has promised to ‘ban fracking for good’ and is expected to set out details in its Energy Independence Bill, which may be included in the Kings Speech next month. Friends of the Earth says the proposed ban must include ‘proppant squeeze’ and other fracking techniques not covered by the current moratorium, which is restricted to only so-called high-volume fracking [3].

Significant areas of England are already licenced for onshore oil and gas exploration and production. Unless proppant squeeze and other types of fracking are explicitly included in the government’s forthcoming ban, they pose a real threat to communities.

The environmental justice campaigners say allowing fracking for fossil fuels flies in the face of the action needed to tackle the climate crisis. Investing in UK renewables and energy efficiency is key to reducing energy bills, strengthening energy security and helping the country transition to a low carbon economy.

Burniston application

North Yorkshire County Council’s planning committee is due to consider a proppant squeeze application at Burniston, near Scarborough on Friday 24 April. Council planning officers have recommended that the scheme be approved.  The proposal is unanimously opposed by Reform-led Scarborough Town Council  (despite the national party’s explicit support of fracking and fossil fuel exploitation), by local MP Alison Hume and there have reportedly been over 1,600 local objections to the application.

Friends of the Earth campaigner, Tony Bosworth, said:

“Proppant squeeze is fracking by another name. North Yorkshire Council cannot ignore its impact on local communities or the scale of opposition. This application must be rejected.

“Earlier this month, one of the UK’s leading geologists warned that the earthquake risks from both high-volume fracking and low-volume techniques like proppant squeeze are equally significant and unpredictable.

“The government has rightly committed to banning fracking for good. It blights our countryside, won’t lower UK energy bills, and is deeply unpopular. 

“With significant parts of England already covered by oil and gas licences, ministers must reassure communities by banning all forms of hydraulic fracturing for fossil fuels.”

Professor Chris Garforth of Frack Free Coastal Communities - a member of Friends of the Earth's action network - said:

"Councillors have a clear duty on Friday: reject this dangerous application. The evidence is overwhelming - low-volume fracking carries the same unpredictable earthquake risks as high-volume fracking, whether in Lancashire or on our fragile coastline."

He added, "Our community has shown extraordinary determination - over 1,600 objections, a massive lobby planned for Friday, and we won't stop until this threat is defeated. This isn't just about Burniston. It's about closing the loophole that puts communities across the country at risk from an industry that has no place in a sustainable future."

Ends

Notes to editors: 

1.    One proppant squeeze application has already been granted in East Yorkshire and more applications are in the pipeline:  
*  West Newton in East Yorkshire: Rathlin Energy has already had permission granted for the production of oil and gas but applied to the Environment Agency (EA) to be allowed to use proppant squeeze. The EA approved this permit variation to allow proppant squeeze/well stimulation in February 2026. Since then, East Riding Council has voted unanimously against fracking at the site.
*   Burniston, North Yorkshire: North Yorkshire County Council’s Strategic planning committee is due to consider a proppant squeeze application at Burniston, near Scarborough on Friday 24 April. 
*  Wressle near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire: Egdon Resources had its planning application for two more production wells and lower-volume fracking (proppant squeeze) quashed in 2024. A further planning application is yet to be submitted, but the council has stated an EIA (to better assess environmental impacts) will not be required.
2. The moratorium was brought in by the previous government because, in the words of then Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom “it is clear that we cannot rule out future unacceptable impacts on the local community”. Friends of the Earth believes this is also the case for low-volume fracking. The moratorium was to be in place “unless and until further evidence is provided that [fracking] can be carried out safely”. This is clearly not the case for low-volume fracking as well as for high-volume fracking.
3. Earlier this year it was reported that the government is reviewing so-called low-volume fracking. There is mounting concern, however, that ministers may be reluctant to act on proppant squeeze - leaving a clear loophole for the industry to exploit. In December 2025, the Minister of Energy Security and Net Zero, Michael Shanks MP , said that “the evidence base is not there at the moment to suggest that low-volume hydraulic fracturing activities have the same associated risks as fracking for shale gas.” The new statement provided by Professor Haszeldine to Friends of the Earth demonstrates that the Minister was wrong about this.

 

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