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Cuadrilla has already re-worked its plans for managing traffic at Roseacre Wood
24/07/2015
Cuadrilla appealing Lancashire frack decision
Will look to overturn council’s decision
Richard Jansen-Parkes
UK SHALE gas company Cuadrilla is appealing against Lancashire County Council’s (LCC) decision to block its plans to drill and frack two sites in the region.
The council voted last month to refuse planning permission for the Cuadrilla projects at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road, citing noise and visual impact and the traffic it would generate respectively.
The decision was hailed as a victory for environmental campaigners, but at the time the council was warned that Cuadrilla was likely to appeal, especially as LCC’s own planning officers had recommended that the Preston New Road site be allowed to go ahead. Solicitors advised the council that there was no legal reason to refuse planning permission and that a refusal would be difficult to defend on appeal.
Cuadrilla has already re-worked its plans for managing traffic at Roseacre Wood, and will be looking to finalise its appeals in the coming weeks.
CEO Francis Egan says that he recognises that shale gas exploration “still feels relatively new in the UK” and the company had given careful consideration to how it would respond to the decision from LCC, but insists that the appeal “is a natural step in the democratic process for deciding any planning application.”
“I understand that some people would prefer that we did not appeal,” he adds, “but I am confident that we will demonstrate to Lancashire and the UK that shale gas exploration and fracking is not only safe but represents a very real opportunity to create jobs, fuel businesses, heat UK homes and stimulate significant local economic growth.”
News of the appeal has already attracted opposition from environmental groups, with Friends of the Earth accusing Cuadrilla of showing “blatant disregard for the views of local people and local democracy.”
