A High Court judge rejected a bid to block fracking in North Yorkshire.
Third Energy was granted permission by North Yorkshire County Council in May to carry out the controversial shale gas extraction process near the village of Kirby Misperton in Ryedale.
Residents from the village and Friends of the Earth applied for a judicial review to have the decision quashed.
North Yorkshire County Council make this statement:
North Yorkshire County Council is grateful for the judgement of the High Court, which confirms that the planning committee gave proper regard to all material planning considerations before approving the application by Third Energy to undertake fracking for shale gas in the vicinity of Kirby Misperton.
The County Council has not sought to bring fracking to North Yorkshire. Having received this application, we had a responsibility to determine it and to apply national and local policies. We followed a statutory process, and the High Court has found that we followed it correctly and has rejected the issues raised by Friends of the Earth.
We have a statutory duty to deal with such issues, and are now focusing on a new draft Minerals and Waste Joint Plan for York and North Yorkshire, which has been produced by the County Council with City of York Council and the North York Moors National Park Authority.
The plan will put in place robust measures to balance the interests of the fracking industry with those of residents, businesses and the environment in areas where planning applications may be made.
It adopts a raft of measures that include an extended buffer zone to protect residential locations as well as environmentally important places, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, nature conservation areas and important historic sites. We have been encouraging people and organisations to make representations on the draft by tomorrow, 21 December.
North Yorkshire County Council statement 