High Court gives go-ahead to fracking in North Yorkshire

The High Court has rejected a claim that North Yorkshire County Council acted unlawfully when it granted planning permission for the extraction of shale gas in Ryedale earlier this year.

In May, the council gave permission for Energy company Third Energy to extract shale gas from a site at Kirby Misperton, Ryedale - the first fracking operation to be approved in England since a ban on fracking was lifted in 2012. The proposal received more than 4300 objections.

Friends of the Earth and resident group Frack Free Ryedale brought a judicial review claiming that North Yorkshire County Council's decision was unlawful as it had failed to properly assess the climate change impact of the fracking through its failure to consider the environmental impact of burning the shale gas extracted to create electricity at a nearby power station in Knapton. The claimants, represented by Leigh Day, also said that the council had failed to secure long-term financial protection from the fracking company against environmental damage of the area.

However, Mrs Justice Lang ruled that the council had properly considered the effect of its decision on climate change and had not acted unlawfully in granting planning permission.