Kevin Hollinrake

Kevin Hollinrake is the UK Conservative Party member of parliament for Thirsk and Malton.

A former estate agent, he replaced the sitting MP Anne McIntosh to run for the rural North Yorkshire seat in the May 2015 general election. He won a majority of 19,456, and an overall 52.6 per cent of the vote.

His constiutency includes the picturesque countryside of the North York Moors and the Howardian Hills and the coastal resort of Filey.

'Serious concern' over plans to frack in North Yorkshire

Whilst campaigning ahead of the 2015 election Hollinrake had publicly stated that he 'would be first in a long line of local residents who would fight tooth and nail to prevent any attempt to produce shale gas in our area on an industrial scale', and that he was against fracking in general until questions over independent water monitoring and who was responsible for decommissioning/remedial action were answered, and safeguards were put in place against industrialisation of the countryside.

Shortly after fracking firm Third Energy submitted its application in May 2015 to drill for gas at Kirby Misperton, Hollinrake requested a meeting at his constituency offices. Afterwards he released this statement,

I have always said, that any proposal to hydraulically fracture for shale gas must be shown to be safe and discreet. Should North Yorkshire County Council approve the application, I will work to ensure that there is no significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in this area, where I, and my family, have lived all our lives. We need to make sure that the regulations are strong, and are monitored independently. In the meeting, it was agreed that Third Energy would allow the Environment Agency to supervise an independent contractor responsible for the monitoring of air and water quality throughout the whole process. This is a significant addition to the current regulations for shale gas exploration. I feel it is very important that the process is safe and is seen to be safe. I am also keen to meet regularly with the people of Kirby Misperton to see first hand the impact of this process on local peoples lives and reassure them that I am on their side.’

Hollinrake added that,

Third Energy today made a commitment that drilling sites need to be around 6 miles apart as a minimum and that each site needs to be no more than a few hectares in size. I would absolutely hold them to account for these commitments.’

... ‘I will be requesting a meeting with Amber Rudd, the secretary of state for energy and climate change to discuss these matters and my serious concerns for the health and wellbeing of local residents and the impact on our local countryside. For now, I will be watching and scrutinising this proposal every step of the way.’

Fracking in North Yorkshire

In May 2015 Third Energy became the second firm, after Cuadrilla, to apply for a licence to frack for gas in Britain after submitting an application for a well at Kirby Misperton - about 25 miles from York. Despite protests from local residents, under the banner 'Frack Free Ryedale', and Friends of the Earth,