Ecology Building Society members ‘oppose fracking’

MEMBERS of the Ecology Building Society showed “clear opposition” to fracking at the mutual’s annual general meeting.

Some members called on the society to pass on their hostility to fracking to the Government.

According to an Ecology spokesman, members were “highly supportive” of the society’s policy on remuneration.

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Ecology’s chief executive’s remuneration is the lowest of the building societies that have so far published their 2013 figures. Ecology’s CEO, Paul Ellis, had total remuneration of £84,000 last year, an increase of 1.2 per cent on the year before. Ecology, which is based in Silsden, West Yorkshire, confirmed that all resolutions were passed, including the re-election of chairman Malcolm Lynch.

The AGM, which was held in the Abbey Centre, in London, also featured a wide-ranging debate about environmental issues. Anna Dart, an anti-fracking activist, told the meeting that “people power” drives changes.

Developing shale gas in the UK could draw in £33bn of investment and create tens of thousands of jobs, a report for the industry claimed last week. The study estimated that drilling up to 4,000 wells for shale gas, which is exploited by controversial fracking, over 18 years would create 64,000 jobs directly linked to exploration sites, in the supply chain or in supporting services.

A spokesman for Ecology Building Society, which has around 9,000 members, said members “were frustrated that the Government was seeking to change the law so that fracking can be carried out under someone’s property without their consent.”

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