Fracking firm appeals over North Yorkshire Council’s decision to reject planning application

North Yorkshire Council's decision to reject permission for 'proppant squeeze' fracking to be carried out at Burniston, near Scarborough, is being challenged by Europa Oil and Gas. The company has now lodged an appeal against the decision.

Friends of the Earth says Europa's appeal highlights the urgent need for the government to protect communities by including all forms of fracking in its upcoming fracking ban - including proppant squeeze - in its Energy Independence Bill, which is expected imminently.

Friends of the Earth campaigner Tony Bosworth, said:

"This appeal will only create more concern and uncertainty for local residents who are understandably worried about the impact of fracking on their community and environment.

"Now we need the government to act. Proppant squeeze is simply fracking by another name. Ministers must deliver on their promise to ban fracking for good by ensuring it includes all forms of this technique - including proppant squeeze. Failure to do so will leave many more communities at risk."

Local group Frack Free Coastal Communities has vowed to fight on. Prof. Chris Garforth, chair of the campaign's steering group, said:

"This comes as no surprise. Within minutes of the planning decision, Europa's chief executive Will Holland boasted he was confident it would be overturned on appeal. That confidence doesn't change the facts. North Yorkshire's strategic planning committee received almost 1,600 objections and reviewed all the evidence before voting against the application. Europa plans to use greater volumes of fracking fluid than were used before the earthquake that sparked the fracking moratorium. Our cliffs are still crumbling. And we're still in a climate emergency. So our message hasn't changed either. Our community said no for good reason, and nothing in an appeal can change that."

Although a moratorium on fracking has been in place since 2019, a loophole means that planning permission can be sought for certain 'low-volume' fracking techniques, such as proppant squeeze.

However, despite being a lower-volume technique, there are concerns that proppant squeeze could still trigger earthquakes.

A report from leading geologist Professor Stuart Haszeldine of the University of Edinburgh, provided to Friends of the Earth and published in April this year, warned that the evidence from analysis of the seismic activity triggered by Cuadrilla's fracking in Lancashire in 2019 showed 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.

The government has pledged to "ban fracking for good" and is expected to outline its plans for doing so when it publishes its Energy Independence Bill, which is expected later in the year.

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Fracking: the facts | Friends of the Earth briefing
2. 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, and a local resident is seeking to overturn permission granted by the Environment Agency.
• 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.

3. About Friends of the Earth: Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI) is the UK's largest grassroots network. We're part of a global environmental justice community dedicated to the protection of the natural world and the wellbeing of everyone in it. We bring together more than two million people in 70 countries, combining people power all over the world to transform local actions into global impact. For more information visit: friendsoftheearth.uk and follow us on Instagram, Threads or TikTok at @friends_earth, or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Bluesky.