Councillors clear to formally reject Burniston fracking

• A copy of the letter from the Secretary of State’s office is available on request from the Friends of the Earth press office

An outstanding issue preventing North Yorkshire Council from rejecting plans for low-volume fracking at a site near Scarborough has now been resolved.

Councillors voted last Friday that they were “minded to refuse” 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. The decision was pending a government decision on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment was needed.

Earlier this month Friends of the Earth wrote to Communities Secretary, Steve Reed, requesting an additional screening direction (suggesting more information on the environmental impact of the proposal was needed) for the Burniston application.

Friends of the Earth has now received a reply from the Department saying “the Secretary of State declines to issue a screening direction in response to your request.” This clears the way for councillors to reject the application and issue a formal refusal.

Attention now turns to the government, which has pledged to introduce a permanent ban on fracking. Friends of the Earth is urging ministers to ensure that the upcoming ban includes all fracking techniques for fossil fuels - including proppant squeeze. The ban is likely to be part of the forthcoming Energy Independence Bill, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the coming months.

Tony Bosworth, of Friends of the Earth, said:

“With the final issue resolved, North Yorkshire councillors can now formally reject this damaging and unnecessary fracking proposal at Burniston.

“Fracking blights our countryside, won’t lower UK energy bills, and remains deeply unpopular.

“The focus now shifts to the government: it must deliver on its promise to ban fracking for good - with no loopholes. That means covering all forms of fracking, including ‘proppant squeeze’. If it fails, communities across England will remain under threat.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

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.
2. The Burniston proposal was 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.
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.
4. 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.
5. 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 or other types of low-level fracking, such as acid fracturing - leaving clear loopholes 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.