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Fracking Given Green Light In North Yorkshire

Councillors have approved an application by a UK company to frack for shale gas near the village of Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire.

Third Energy has become the first company to be given the go-ahead for fracking, which has not taken place in England since 2011.

Five years ago, tests on the Fylde coast in Lancashire were found to have been the likely cause of minor earthquakes in the area.

The application had caused considerable controversy in North Yorkshire, amid concerns it could contaminate the local water supply and harm the region's tourism industry.

Seven out of 11 members on the county council's planning committee in Northallerton voted in favour of the application.

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Demonstrators booed as the result was announced, with some shouting "shame on you" and "you will be held accountable".

Greenpeace UK has described the county council's decision as "bitterly disappointing" - but claimed it had an air of inevitability "given the pro-fracking bias from the Government".

Head of energy Daisy Sands added: "This isn’t over and people will continue to raise their very valid concerns and keep fighting against fracking because it will industrialise the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and contribute to climate change."

North Yorkshire County Council's decision follows a two-day consultation which saw dozens of speakers make submissions.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) has been revealed that out of the 4,420 individual representations received by the council committee about the application, only 36 were in support of fracking.

The Government has previously said it is going "all out for shale", and believes the hydraulic fracturing technique can boost the UK's energy security and economy.

Fracking involves pumping liquid deep underground at high pressure to fracture rock and release gas.

Critics are also concerned the practice will cause noise and traffic pollution, as well as endanger the wellbeing of bees and bats near to the drilling rig.

Donna Hume, a representative of Friends of the Earth, told Sky News that North Yorkshire County Council had failed to listen to its constituents.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) warned: "We need to make use of the clean energy resources that are at our own doorstep. We have climate change to deal with. It's not going to bring jobs to the area.

"We need to leave fossil fuels in the ground. This is the wrong way to be going."

Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) 's North of England Correspondent Mike McCarthy said Third Energy is expected to begin operating toward the end of this year.