A PARISH council chairman has resigned in protest at a decision to allow fracking near the village he represents.

Paul Wicks has stepped down from his role as chairman of Kirby Misperton Parish Council, saying North Yorkshire County Council’s recent approval of plans for exploratory fracking nearby has left him feeling serving on the parish council no longer serves a useful purpose.

In his resignation letter he wrote that he felt “unable to represent the interests of the residents of Kirby Misperton as a councillor”.

He went on to state: "The parish council has spent time and money in trying to best represent local residents regarding this application, but the approval, despite the objection from the parish council and opposition from our own representative on the county council (among many others), has left me feeling that my serving on the parish council no longer serves a useful purpose.

"Better minds than mine can probably analyse what is wrong with a system that prevents councils from making decisions based purely on the best interests of the public by creating a bureaucratic process that only allows 'material considerations' to be taken into account when making decisions that affect so many.

"I have decided that I no longer wish to be part of such a system."

The plans by Third Energy to explore shale gas reserves from one of its existing gas wells were approved by seven votes to four at a special county council planning meeting at County Hall in Northallerton.

The two-day meeting heard submissions from speakers and a lengthy report by council planners who had recommended the plans were approved.

The council received 4,375 letters of objection and 36 letters of support of the plans.

Chairman of the planning committee, Councillor Peter Sowray, said last week there was no political pressure on planning committee members to approve fracking and said Malton had lived in a gas field for the past 20 years without any detrimental impact on its farming or tourism industry.

He said: “If anybody wants to drill a well they have to come back for planning permission. I wish people would stop saying the area will be an industrial wasteland – it will scare off the tourists and food buyers and visitors. They do more harm than good saying that.

“Malton has lived in a gas field for the last 20 years without incident and people are just trying to make this more than it is.”