GAS company Third Energy has been granted permission to drill up to five boreholes to monitor groundwater, as part of their application to carry out fracking at a site in Ryedale.

North Yorkshire County Council granted permission for the installation of the water monitoring boreholes at a meeting at County Hall, Northallerton yesterday (Tuesday 1) afternoon.

The application is to install up to five boreholes made up of three shallow boreholes of about 10metres in depth within their existing KM8 well-site in Kirby Misperton in addition to one borehole about 50metres deep and one about 220metres deep within the adjoining well-site known as KM1.

Third Energy has submitted an application to carry out test fracks at their existing KM8 well-site in Kirby Misperton which has been validated by the county council and is now open for public consultation.

As part of the application, county council documents at the meeting said that Third Energy is “required to undertake baseline monitoring of groundwater prior to the undertaking of any operation to hydraulically stimulate and test various geological formations.”

The boreholes approved would allow Third Energy to provide information on the characterisation of the baseline groundwater quality within the immediate area around the well-site.

Third Energy has estimated that drilling operations would take a maximum of two weeks with the proposed work taking place between 7am-7pm.

However concerns have been raised regarding the application. Planning spokesperson for Frack Free Ryedale David Davis said: “We are very surprised and disappointed that this application has been approved.”