Fracking was banned by the Conservative government in 2019 after a 2.9 earthquake at the Cuadrilla-owned Preston New Road site in Lancashire and a subsequent investigation that found it was not possible to accurately predict the likelihood or magnitude of earthquakes . There were widespread protests against the industry in the years leading up to the ban. Earlier this year Kwasi Kwarteng, now Chancellor, promised not to lift the ban unless new evidence showed it was safe and would cause minimal disruption. The government has said fracking will only go ahead where it has local support, but has not outlined how this will be determined. “If the government believes that fracking has public support, it needs to check that applications for drilling permits go through the normal local planning processes – where they are almost certain to be refused,” Mr Fyans said. “Any attempt to circumvent this is an affront to local democracy.” A government spokesman said: “Tapping into our own natural gas resources makes us less dependent on imports and helps maintain the security of the UK’s energy supply in both the short and long term. Drawing lessons from around the world, we will make sure it is done as safely as possible and where there is local support.”
Ministers, be warned…an earthquake is coming
By Tom Fyans, Interim Chief Executive of CPRE, the county’s charity An earthquake is coming. Literally, if the Truss government goes ahead and lifts the ban on fracking. Back in 2019, tremors measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale shook the homes of people living near the controversial site of Quadriga in Lancashire. It appeared to be the death knell for fracking, with a moratorium quickly introduced to quell public outrage. Cut to 2022 and fracking is back, in the name of the energy crisis. It’s absurd when natural gas is nine times more expensive than renewables. This is to say nothing of the environmental impact. The new chancellor got it right in March when he said fracking “would take up to a decade to extract sufficient volumes – and would come at a high cost to our communities and precious countryside”. Nothing changed. The leaked British Geological Survey report makes it clear that no progress has been made in predicting or reducing fracking-related earthquakes. Homes and lives would still be damaged. Our countryside would still be industrialized. Air and water are still at risk of pollution. Determined to force fracking on unwilling communities, the government is moving targets. Since the ban, unless proven safe, we are now told that “as safe as possible” is sufficient. The fossil fuel conglomerates who rub their hands with glee at the thought of high profits could at least be talking to local residents. On the contrary, however, they request that the right of objection be removed from the communities. The gas companies know that local democracy will stop them. They know that if the world has a reason, it will be categorical. Years of polls show opposition to fracking hovering around 75 percent, in direct contrast to the same percentage who approve of renewable energy.
A devil’s playground with gas wells
We need to be clear about what is at stake here. Not just the environment, but the public’s democratic right to oppose its destruction. If the government believes that fracking has public support, it needs to check that applications for drilling permits go through the usual local planning processes – where they are almost certain to be rejected. Any attempt to circumvent this is an affront to local democracy. More seismic than the rifting of the countryside and the damage to rural homes will be the monumental reaction. The anger of the local communities will be off the Richter scale. Breaking a manifesto commitment is one thing. Breaking the countryside is another. Within days of fracking rearing its ugly head again, residents’ associations and protesters who spent years campaigning to prevent their neighborhoods from becoming the gas well devil’s playground began to organize again. These are traditional communities that are going to be hit by the cost of living crisis. But they are damned if they are bribed and bullied into submission. The countryside is at the forefront and ready for the race. Ministers, be warned.
