Sunday Times: Make-or-break verdict on fracking

BRITAIN’S shale gas industry faces a day of reckoning tomorrow when planners decide whether to allow fracking in Lancashire.

The verdict from the county council’s planning chief will have far-reaching consequences for shale gas, which has transformed America’s economy, but has been stalled in Britain by public opposition and planning delays.

Cuadrilla Resources, a private company backed by Centrica, the owner of British Gas, wants to drill for natural gas on two sites in Lancashire, at Preston New Road , near Little Plumpton, and Roseacre Wood, near Elswick. The council rejected both applications in January, saying they would create too much noise and that lorry traffic at Roseacre Wood would pose a danger to local people.

The head of planning will tomorrow make a recommendation on whether Cuadrilla’s mitigation measures have addressed the concerns ahead of council votes on June 24 and 26th.

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