Activists brave the cold by camping near Kirby Misperton where shale exploration by Third Energy has council’s approval

Protesters have called themselves the “frontline in the fight against fracking” as they prepare to camp out on New Year’s Eve by one of the two UK sites where the practice is has been given the go-ahead.

Activists moved on to private farmland near Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, just before Christmas, after the high court rejected a legal move to stop plans for fracking at a well south-west of the village.

A handful of campers braved Christmas Day outdoors with the sub-zero temperatures that have followed, but say hundreds more people have come to show their support at the site over the last week from the local area and around the country.

'Riding roughshod over democracy': residents on fracking in North Yorkshire Read more

One camper, Eddie Thornton, from nearby Pickering, said on Friday that the protesters would continue the “peaceful non-violent resistance” until gas firm Third Energy withdrew its plans to test for shale gas.

“Spirits are high on camp. It’s a bit nippy but we’ve been warmed by the kindness of our neighbours,” he said. “We spent a wonderful Christmas Day tucking into a roast turkey dinner delivered from the local village, and since then the protection camp has been growing. Yesterday we counted over 100 visitors.”

Thornton said he and his fellow campers planned to block Third Energy’s lorries when they brought equipment to the proposed fracking site in the new year.

The land occupied by the protesters is believed to be the property of Gordon Gibb, the millionaire owner of the nearby Flamingoland theme park and zoo, and is beside a main road that would be used by the gas firm to access the drill site. Thornton, who quit his job as a videographer in France to protest against the fracking plans, said the activists were relying on donations to protect the area from shale gas drilling.

“The generosity of locals enables us to hold our position for as long as it takes and when the lorries roll in we’ll be ready,” he said. “I joined the camp when it was clear that local democracy had failed our community. We put all our faith in our elected representatives but they sold us down the river and earmarked our beautiful region as a sacrifice zone for an unnecessary fossil fuel industry.”

There was anger in May when North Yorkshire council approved the project despite thousands of objections from residents.

“This is the front line in the fight against fracking and we welcome anyone from around the country to come and stand with us in Kirby Misperton,” said Thornton.

Residents from the village supported by Friends of the Earth tried to block the decision in the high court but, days before Christmas, a judge dismissed their application for judicial review. The judge ruled that the terms and conditions afforded “a considerable degree of protection to residents” and the council’s decision was lawful.

The Kirby Misperton application was the first to be approved in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast in Lancashire were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area. Since then, two high-profile applications to frack in Lancashire have been rejected by councillors.

But in October, the scheme to drill up to four wells and frack for shale gas at Preston New Road, Fylde, which had been turned down by Lancashire county council, was given the go-ahead by the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, following an appeal.

A second site in Lancashire, Roseacre Wood, has not yet been given the green light amid concerns over HGV traffic and road safety in the area.

Another camper in Kirby Misperton, Kim Hunter, from the protest group Frack Free Scarborough, said she joined the camp in solidarity against fracking and would spend New Year’s Eve on site, despite the cold and rain forecast overnight.

“This well goes through our drinking water and the implications for climate change are disastrous,” she said. “Frack Free Scarborough is 100% behind the camp and many of our members are planning to join in the new year.”

In a statement, Third Energy said: “Third Energy has become aware that a small group of protestors has set up a camp … objecting to the company’s plans for a test frack of its existing well at the KMA site in Kirby Misperton. These plans have been approved by North Yorkshire county council after extensive consultation and deliberation, and the council’s decision was upheld in the high court.

“Third Energy respects people’s right to lawful and peaceful protest. We trust that those who object to our plans will also respect our rights, and the rights of Ryedale residents, to go about our business lawfully and peacefully.

“Third Energy has been producing gas and energy in Ryedale in a safe, discreet and environmentally sensitive way for more than two decades, and the first well was drilled at the KMA site in 1985. We work closely with local residents, local businesses, local councils and the regulators. We look forward to being able to develop our operations in the future in the same safe, discreet and environmentally sensitive way.”

After the camp was established, North Yorkshire police said it would be using a “neighbourhood policing approach” in relation to the camp. The force said in a statement: “The police have a duty to facilitate peaceful protest, which is balanced with the rights of residents and businesses to go about their daily life in Kirby Misperton with any possible disruption kept to minimum.”