DEVELOPERS of a £30 million energy facility in North Yorkshire have reassured residents they will be fully consulted during the planning process.

The proposed North Selby Mine facility would create electricity from biomass and food waste to power thousands of homes, and would create 100 jobs for the area.

But some opponents of the plans have claimed that UK Coal, Peel and City of York Council have not given residents of nearby villages enough information at recent public exhibitions. Dr Mike Hill, of Escrick, wrote to developers and members of the council to ask for more information, and said the responses he received were unhelpful.

Speaking to The Press last week, he said: “The companies haven’t considered us residents, just put on an exhibition. But if you ask any of the representatives at the events any questions, they can’t answer them.”

A spokeswoman for the developers said: “We have made a point of carrying out thorough community engagement from the outset. “The proposals are still being developed as we carry out pre-application consultation.

“This means that we are not at a stage in the application process where we are able to answer every question we receive on our proposals.”

Of the developers’ latest responses, Dr Hill said: “They haven’t told us much at all. They said they were aiming for February to submit the planning application, but when we asked them what kind of technology would be used at the site, they wouldn’t tell us.”

The spokeswoman said: “Answers to certain questions will come to light as the development of the proposals continues. We are still working on the environmental assessments, and we can only provide detailed answers to questions when assessments are complete.

“A planning application for the scheme has not yet been submitted to City of York Council and we plan to inform local residents of the final proposals when this happens, at which point we will be able to provide answers to all their questions.

“Following the submission of this application, City of York Council will carry out a formal consultation, which people will be able to respond to.”