THE energy company looking to build a gas processing plant in the heart of rural Ryedale has defended its level of publicity explaining the scheme.

Moorland Energy is planning to hold two public consultation days on the plans early next month.

But the leader of Thorton-le-Dale Parish Council, on whose land the site could be built, has said the company has not done enough to publicise the events.

Coun Geoff Acomb said: “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of publicity about this. There doesn’t seem to be any publicity.

“That doesn’t mean to say there isn’t any, but I haven’t seen any. People are not aware of this.”

He said the issue was being “kept very quiet” and he would be raising the matter at the next meeting of the council.

Surrey-based Moorland Energy is looking to build a gas drilling and processing plant in the area and lay a pipline to connect the facility to the region’s high-pressure gas network.

Last week the company announced it was to hold two public consultation events, one at Thornton-le-Dale Village Hall on March 5 and another at Allerston Village Hall the following day. So far the company has refused to comment on the scale of the proposed plant, saying that the plans will be revealed at the two consultation evenings.

A spokesman for Moorland Energy would reveal only that the planned building would not be a “massive one.”

He said: “We have publicised the forthcoming public exhibition events, taking place on March 5 and 6, in a number of ways including delivering invitations to households in Thornton-le-Dale, Wilton, Ebberston and Allerston during the week commencing February 8, through recent coverage in the local and regional media and placing adverts in two local newspapers, The Press and the Gazette & Herald.”

So far no planning application application has been submitted.