Revised oil and gas drilling site extension recommended for approval

Revised plans for an extension of an oil and gas drilling site in East Yorkshire have been recommended for approval next week (17 March 2022) following the refusal of a previous application last year.Rathlin Energy (UK) submitted an application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council in December 2021 for an extension to the existing West Newton A (WNA) wellsite.East Riding of Yorkshire’s planning committee previously refused consent for the company’s original proposal in October 2021 for reasons of visually intrusion and scale.The revised plans propose four new wells, down from six, with the site set to be 25 per cent smaller than the original application.The duration of drilling would also be reduced from 24 months to 17.5 months.The new application also includes hedge and tree planting designed to reduce the visual impact of the project.Planning permission is sought for a 25-year period.The application will go before the council’s planning committee on 17 March and is recommended for approval, subject to conditions, in an officer’s report prepared for the meeting.The recommendation has been made despite 391 objections.A second application from Rathlin Energy will also be considered at the meeting, and is also recommended for approval. This seeks additional time to allow for a further 36) months to complete the approved activities and drill the final exploratory well (the first drilling phase).