Yorkshire regulated sites

We're inviting local residents and other interested parties to comment on our draft environmental permit decision for the proposed 'Cloughton 2 wellsite' near Burniston, North Yorkshire (YO13 0DB).

The proposal from Europa Oil and Gas Limited is for temporary exploratory drilling for natural gas. Following our assessment of the application, supporting information and comments received during the first consultation, we are currently minded to grant the permit, subject to legally binding conditions to protect people and the environment.

Before making a final decision, we're holding a second public consultation.

Have your say

The consultation is open from 3 August to 23 September 2026.

🗣️ View the draft decision, supporting documents and submit comments:

https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/yo13-0db-europa-oil-gas-limited-draft-decision/

All relevant comments received during the consultation period will be considered before a final decision is made.

Contact: yorkshireoilandgas@environment-agency.gov.uk

We understand that the HMRC winding up petition against Caird Peckfield went back to court on 13 May 2026 and has been adjourned until 5 August 2026.

This means Caird Peckfield Ltd is still operational and we continue to inspect the site and regulate against the environmental permit

We have received an application to transfer the environmental permit for this site from Caird Peckfield Ltd to a new company, Peckfield Restoration Ltd. Our permitting service is currently assessing this application.

Our priority is minimising any impact on the environment and community, and we are closely monitoring developments at the site.

A further community liaison meeting has been proposed by local councillors. Although a date has not been fixed, we will attend when arranged to update the group.

In January 2026, we asked the operator to reduce the volume of part-processed waste being stored outdoors. We noted during our recent inspections that GRUK has reduced the volume of waste being stored on site and has changed their operating procedures to ensure smaller volumes of waste are stored on site, prior to it being processed. One photo is 26 February 2026 and one is 2 April 2026 clearly showing the reduced volume of waste being stored on site.

Between 09 April 2025 and 20 August 2025 we used a mobile monitoring facility (MMF) to monitor air quality data in the local area. The report from this monitoring can be found here South Elmsall main report

Our monitoring report includes information regarding measured concentrations of the gas hydrogen sulphide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published guidelines relating to potential impacts from hydrogen sulphide. The guidelines relate to levels above which substantial reports about odour annoyance can be expected and a level at which direct health impacts may occur.

Comparing the collected data from our study with the WHO guidelines showed that measured hydrogen sulphide concentrations were low compared to the health related guideline value but frequently exceeded the level above which substantial reports about odour annoyance would be expected.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has reviewed our monitoring report and produced an update that includes a risk assessment and advice. The full update can be viewed here UKHSA Health update for South Elmsall

Planning Inspectorate Update

On 2 March 2025, the Planning Inspectorate announced that they have dismissed the appeal that Mineral Processing Ltd made against our decision to issue a revocation notice at their South Elmsall site. We have been pleased to note that the Planning Inspectorate agrees with our decision, based on thorough evidence collected by our teams.

The Inspector stated that they were satisfied that revocation of the Permit is reasonable and necessary in the circumstances to protect the environment and human health, including from actual pollution and ongoing risk of pollution.

This means that our revocation notice is now in force. The full appeal decison document can be viewed here Appeal Decision

What does this mean?

Revocation means that the permit is cancelled and the operator must cease all activities allowed by the permit and take the steps set out in the revocation notice regarding removal of waste from the site. The Operator also remains responsible for appropriately managing odour impacts from the site. If they do not comply with the notice, they will be committing an offence.

The notice requires all waste from the regulated facility to be removed by either:

removing it to an appropriately permitted facility;

removing it to an exempt waste operation in accordance with the terms of that exempt waste operation; or

a combination of the above.

The date by which these steps are to be completed is 31 August 2029.

We will continue to closely monitor activity at the site and expect the Operator to comply with the steps set out in the revocation notice.

During January 2026, we received 202 reports of odour from this site. We have been out on site performing proactive odour monitoring in the affected areas. During these inspections, we have detected odour at a level that was deemed to be causing pollution outside of the permitted boundary of the site and we have recorded this as a non-compliance of the permit.

If you are affected by odour in the South Elmsall area, please contact our 24 hour incident hotline on 0800 8070 60 to provide details of the incident or visit Where is the smell coming from - report a smell from a waste facility, industrial site or farm in England - GOV.UK.

We are also aware that there has been some recent activity at the site. Even though the permit is currently suspended to prevent more waste inputs we cannot restrict any site-based activity that does not include the import of waste. However, we do not suspect that these activities are causing the current increase in odour reports.

We are aware that HMRC has issued a winding up petition against Caird Peckfield Ltd, the operator of Peckfield Landfill, Micklefield. This winding up petition was advertised in the London Gazette today, Friday 6 February 2026 and can be viewed online CAIRD PECKFIELD LIMITED | Petitions to Wind Up (Companies) | The Gazette

The environmental permit for the site is still in place and being operated by Caird Peckfield Ltd. We are monitoring developments and continuing to actively regulate the site.

Our priority is for the operator to comply with the environmental permit and to carry out the required actions to bring the site to closure.

We have received an application for Peckfield Landfill site to transfer the permit from Caird Peckfield Ltd to Peckfield Restoration Ltd. This would transfer the environmental permit to a new operator. Our permitting service is currently assessing this application. We will provide further updates on this as the application progresses.

The existing environmental permit for the site is still in place and being operated by Caird Peckfield Ltd. We are monitoring developments and continuing to actively regulate the site.

Our priority is for the operator to comply with the environmental permit and to carry out the required actions to bring the site to closure.

You can now view Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) forms from our inspections at regulated sites online through our Public Registers Online page.

Mineral Processing Ltd appealed against our revocation notice for this site on 3 July 2025. The Planning Inspectorate hearing took place on 9-10 December 2025 and will decide whether the appeal will be upheld or rejected.

We are currently awaiting the outcome of this hearing. If any members of the public would like to see publicly available documents from the hearing, these can be requested by contacting enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk