GOVERNMENT plans to provide cash payouts to people living near fracking sites has failed to improve its appeal, according to a national survey.

Only 33 per cent of people questioned in the YouGov poll said they would support fracking in their local area even if households were paid up to £10,000.

It also revealed that 43 per cent “strongly” or “tend to” oppose fracking, while a quarter remain “unsure”.

The news comes after the Government announced plans for the Shale Wealth Fund, which could distribute thousands of pounds to individual homes affected by fracking projects.

Frack Free Ryedale described the proposals as a “bribe” and called on communities to reject them.

Cllr Di Keal, from Ryedale District Council said: “In the current economic climate people, when many people are struggling financially, the offer of £10,000 might seem appealing, but it is little compensation for the risk to the environment, our health and well-being and the wrecking of the countryside that the industry will bring.

"While the money may sound attractive to some hard pressed families it will not even scrape the surface in terms of the compensating for the huge fall in house prices that would follow in the wake of fracking.

“All local people in the vicinity of exploited wells will also face the damage and disruption caused by lorry journeys associated with the process, the pollution risks and damage to agriculture and tourism.

“North Yorkshire is a beautiful county that relies heavily on tourism and agriculture, both of which face irreparable damage if fracking is allowed to go ahead”.

Sue Gough, who lives near the controversial proposed Third Energy fracking site in Kirby Misperton, near Malton, said people accepting the money would be “selling their communities down the river”.

The terms of the payments – which some estimates have put at up to £10,000 per household - would not be distributed until a new site begins producing gas, which could be several years after exploration.

Environmental group Greenpeace say the terms of the pay-out make it unlikely households would receive a £10,000 cheque.

Greenpeace UK head of energy Daisy Sands said: "Our analysis has shown that is highly unlikely any family affected by fracking will ever see the £10,000 cheque promised by the government.

“A majority of the UK public have seen through this poorly-executed PR ploy and are unmoved by the promise of cash. People's concerns about air pollution, noise, the impact on the countryside and climate change cannot be bought off in this way.

“If Theresa May wants to show the UK is open for business, she should reverse the policies that have harmed our vibrant clean energy sector and back the technologies that can supply cheap, home-grown energy for decades to come."

Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG, the onshore oil and gas trade body, said: “It is well established that with infrastructure developments, particularly with energy projects such as onshore wind farms, that the local community should share in the benefits of the project.

“Until people can see the reality of either the project or the benefit, it is hard for them to assess. However, it is noticeable that in areas where there is potential for fracking, there is more favourability for this proposal than in areas where fracking is less likely, such as London.”