Give councils last word on local fracking, say voters

The survey of 1,055 people for Greenpeace which found that 62% of people were in favour of the decision being made locally comes as a public inquiry begins into whether the go-ahead should be given for shale gas exploration at two sites in Lancashire.

The environmental group is staging a protest outside Parliament complete with a 10-metre fracking rig and drill, in protest against the move by the Government to drive forward with the controversial process for extracting gas in the UK.

A public inquiry is being held after Lancashire County Council turned down shale gas company Cuadrilla’s planning application for exploratory drilling and fracking for shale gas at two sites in Roseacre and Little Plumpton, in Lancashire.

Cuadrilla’s appeal against the decision is being heard by the planning inspector at the inquiry, but the Government has decided Communities Secretary Greg Clark will make the final decision because the proposals are “of more than local significance”.

Fracking: Coverage from The Yorkshire Post

A rally is taking place outside Blackpool Football club where the inquiry is being held.

Jasber Singh, from Lancashire and part of Frack Free Lancashire, said: “I have been involved with anti-fracking community groups in Lancashire for over two years, and the number of groups keeps increasing.

“That’s because we are not going to gain anything from fracking apart from air, noise, land and water pollution that’s bad for our health and the health of the climate.

“It would pay the Communities Minister to visit some communities in Lancashire rather than ignoring us and our council.”

More than 30 Greenpeace activists arrived in Parliament Square at 6am to erect the “Frack & Go” rig under cover of darkness.

By the time MPs started arriving at Westminster, fake workers in high-vis jackets were in place to man machinery as the rig spurted plumes of flame, and an electronic display board showed the message: “Greg Clark - You’ve Been Fracked”.

Spokeswoman Hannah Martin said the protesters had not notified police of their plans, but by mid-morning had not received any request to halt the demo.

“We are here today to fight for the future of the English countryside,” said Ms Martin. “We are trying to bring some of the negative impacts that local communities such as those in Lancashire face from fracking right to the heart of democracy, to show the so-called Communities Secretary Greg Clark and his colleagues what it is like.

“Greg Clark will make the final decision on this, and given the Government’s pro-fracking stance, that essentially makes a mockery of local democracy.”

The Government has said it is going “all out for shale” to boost energy security and the economy.

But opponents fear fracking - in which liquid is pumped deep underground at high pressure to fracture rock and release gas - can cause water contamination, earthquakes, damaging development in the countryside and noise and traffic pollution.

Environmentalists also warn that pursuing new sources of gas - a fossil fuel - is not compatible with efforts to tackle climate change, and that the focus should be on developing cleaner sources of energy such as renewables.