Fylde Council demands government explains itself on fracking 'local support' pledge

That was the message from Fylde Council leader Coun Karen Buckley during a debate on fracking at the latest full council meeting, which saw councillors united around an amended notice of motion with a unanimous vote.

The motion called upon the Government to answer the question on how they will go about ascertaining consent or otherwise in local communities where fracking could take place.

It went on to seek confirmation that Lancashire County Council remain the decision-maker for any planning applications for fracking.

In view of the concerns regarding the safety of the industry, the motion also called upon the Government to demonstrate the manifesto commitment of 2019 which stated “we will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely”.

Leader of Fylde Council, Coun Karen Buckley, said: “It is not unreasonable to ask what consent looks like and I’m fully behind our MP, Mark Menzies, who raised this issue in the debate on shale gas extraction with the Business Secretary in the House of Commons on September 22.

"He said in essence: ‘the Prime Minister made it crystal clear… that fracking would take place in the United Kingdom only where there was local consent. Will the Secretary of State outline how that local consent will be given and demonstrated in my constituency of Fylde?’

"But answer came there none.

"The people of Fylde deserve an answer – it’s not a difficult question.”

Coun Liz Oades, leader of the Independent group, had raised the issue of fracking in the meeting saying: “We need to give our community the assurance they are fully protected. We already have clear evidence our geology is not suitable to support fracking at the present time.”

Fracking - a process which uses high-pressure liquid to release gas from shale formations – was halted in 2019 after a series of earth tremors were caused by the two wells fracked at Preston New Road near Little Plumpton.

But the government confirmed last month that it was lifting the moratorium on fracking as it pushed for an increase in domestic energy production in the face of soaring bills.

The controversial move has come under fire from green campaigners who have criticised the government for appearing to row back on environmental commitments.

New chancellor Jeremy Hunt was asked by a Conservative MP on Monday whether ‘he could slay the dragon of fracking’ as it was not the Conservative Party manifesto, to which Mr Hunt replied: "The Government position is very clear, we will not proceed unless there is local support."