North Yorkshire gas plant gets government go ahead
Controversial plans for a gas processing plant in North Yorkshire have been given the go ahead.
Moorland Energy Ltd plans to extract gas from reserves at Ebberston South and process it at the plant between Thornton-le-Dale and Wilton.
The company requested a public inquiry into the plans in 2011 and the government has now given consent.
The scheme was opposed by North Yorkshire County Council and 10,000 people signed a petition against it.
Laurie Erasmus, chief executive of Moorland Energy, said the decision was excellent news that would bring jobs and investment to the area.
Local residents opposed to the plans had formed a campaign group, Against Having Sour Gas in Thornton (Aghast).
Their main concern had been the impact of the plans on a rural site close to the North York Moors National Park.
Mr Erasmus said: "We demonstrated at the inquiry our significant measures to mitigate that impact.
"I am confident that local residents will come to recognise that the perceived impact will not be quite as great as they thought."
However Adam White, co-founder of Aghast, said he was hugely disappointed by what he described as the wrong decision.