News review
Sustainable Industry
Fracking firm Cuadrilla to appeal
planning application defeat
Company planning controversial bid to overturn Lancashire County Council decision
By Chris Edwards
gas firm Cuadrilla
S hale
says it will launch an
appeal in an attempt to
overturn the decision by
Lancashire County Council to
refuse it permission for two
fracking sites.
In a statement, the company
said it will apply to the Planning
Inspectorate to overturn the ruling,
although the decision will likely be
passed to the Secretary of State at
the Department for Communities
and Local Government.
Cuadrilla had applied for
permission to drill, hydraulically
fracture and test the flow of gas
from up to four exploration wells
on each of two sites, at Preston
New Road and Roseacre Wood.
It said it will also be appealing the
refusal of a separate planning
application to install seismic and
groundwater monitoring stations
Government Minister to now decide if Cuadrilla can frack in Lancashire
around the proposed Preston New
Road exploration site. A similar
application was granted for
monitoring works around the
proposed Roseacre Wood
exploration site,but the company
will appeal against certain
conditions imposed on this consent.
Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla,
said: “We have given careful
consideration to appeal the
planning decisions taken by
Lancashire County Council. This is a
natural step in the democratic
process for deciding any planning
application. We recognise that
onshore shale gas exploration still
feels relatively new in the UK and we
remain committed to engaging with
local communities to reassure them
that exploratory operations can and
will be carried out safely and in an
environmentally responsible way.
“I understand that some people
would prefer that we did not
appeal but I am confident that we
will demonstrate to Lancashire and
the UK that sha