by John Prince
East Riding Council members have supported a motion against a permit variation granted to energy firm Rathlin Energy, which allows them to go ahead with plans to extract oil and gas from a controversial wellsite.
In a meeting held last Wednesday, April 1, all councillors present voted unanimously to oppose high pressure, hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – at the West Newton A oil and gas site at High Fosham.
The cross-party vote reinforces the council’s long-standing position, as it marks the second time it has formally rejected the activity.
Back in 2022, members voted by 49 votes to reinforce the council’s opposition, with six abstentions and none against.
Last week’s motion was brought forward by Green group member Cllr Andy Walker.
It followed the Environment Agency’s approval in February of the permit variation to perform hydraulic fracturing at the West Newton A site.
The motion also calls for an independent report into the safety and risks associated with the operation.
Labour councillor Steve Gallant, who seconded the motion, said the chief executive of East Riding should write to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to clarify East Yorkshire’s opposition.
The NSTA is the regulator for onshore and offshore oil and gas in the UK, and approves or rejects the work programme for a licence.
It has not yet approved the full development plan at West Newton A. It’s understood that only a revised work programme has been given the green light so far.
Cllr Gallant also said the council should also write to Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband to try and speed up government legislation to ban fracking.
Operator Rathlin Energy describes the process as “reservoir stimulation”, terminology that the council say obscures the true nature of the proposed activity.
Cllr Walker challenged the language used by the operator, and regulators, when he addressed the council chamber.
He said: “It may be called a well stimulation or a proppant squeeze. But if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, this is fracking.”
He went on to say that the pressures proposed for the West Newton A well would far exceed those used at the Preston New Road site in Lancashire, an operation that triggered a series of earthquakes.
The debate centred on public safety, protection of the environment, and the need for transparency about any operations.
Councillors also highlighted the importance of safeguarding the region’s water sources and aquifer, ensuring that local communities are not exposed to unnecessary risk.
A call for an independent report reflects a desire for impartial scrutiny beyond the information provided by Rathlin Energy and regulators.
In a further development, the Environment Agency has confirmed that they have received a formal expression of opposition to the West Newton site.
It has come in the form of legal correspondence from an East Yorkshire resident seeking a judicial review in the courts, if permission for fracking is not revoked within a set time limit.
Although the agency has said it is inappropriate for them to provide further comment at this stage, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency did say: “We have received a formal pre-action protocol letter in relation to this matter, and are currently giving it careful consideration.
“We want to reassure people that the permit variation will ensure that robust levels of environmental protection are met.”
The Environment Agency also stated that it has reviewed the comments and evidence from both public consultations on fracking.
The full April 1 council meeting can be viewed on the East Riding Council – Committee Meetings YouTube channel.