Fears over ‘targeting region’ in the dash for gas

Coun Symon Fraser, who holds the environment, housing and planning portfolio on East Riding Council, made the call in the wake of Lord Howell’s controversial remarks about fracking being concentrated in the “desolate North East”.

It comes as Energy Minister Michael Fallon said around 40 wells could be drilled over the next couple of years to explore underground reserves.

Exploratory drilling – using conventional means – has taken place this year at two sites in East Yorkshire, High Fosham and Crawberry Hill, near Walkington.

Coun Fraser said the East Riding had already been “heavily targeted” by wind farm developers: “We are not stupid enough or naive enough not to realise that where exploration is likely to take place is set in stone by geography and geology, but having said that we feel we have been targeted in the past for some development and we just want to know it’s a level playing field.”

Coun Fraser will seek backing at a council meeting next week when he puts forward a motion stating: “That this council seek reassurance from the Government that Lord Howell’s comments that ‘fracking can take place in the desolate North East England’ did not expose the secret underlying policy of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

“Furthermore we ask that the DCLG publish strict national guidelines to ensure that no areas or communities are unduly targeted for this activity.”

Conservatives, including Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling, have been talking up the impact of shale gas on energy bills at this week’s Tory Party conference.

But while shale gas drilling in the US on a huge scale has helped lower prices, none has yet been extracted in the UK after a moratorium following a minor tremor caused by drilling near Blackpool.

That has now been lifted, with the Government promising the toughest regulation in the world.

Mr Fallon said yesterday it would be “irresponsible” not to allow companies to find out if the underground reserves can be extracted, despite concerns over fracking – the hydraulic fracturing of rock with high-pressure liquid to release gas and oil – which opponents claim carry risks including water contamination and small earthquakes.

He also repeated his call for more home-grown energy supplies as North Sea fields run out, saying the UK was last self-sufficient for gas in 2004.

The Minister was speaking days after it emerged that the Balcombe protests by environmentalists had cost the taxpayer £4m in policing costs.

Mr Fallon said: “We now know from the study we did in the summer that we’ve got twice or three times as much shale as we originally thought so we do need to do everything we can to make sure they can explore as soon as possible the potential for getting it out.

“When talking about shale gas, it doesn’t have to involve fracking, some of it will just be core drilling. I think we’re going to see a couple of years of exploration – of exploratory wells.

“There are about a dozen companies involved now in different sites up and down England looking for shale gas.

“So I think we’re going to see maybe 30, 40 wells drilled over the next couple of years to see what the real potential is – whether this gas can be got out easily as they have been getting it out in the United States and whether they can get it out as cheaply as they have got it out in the United States.”