MPs have voted to allow fracking under national parks although the ruling has caused some controversy amongst ministers after an underhand method of getting the measure through was used, avoiding a proper debate in the House of Commons. Despite the Conservative pledge to ban fracking in protected areas, 298 ministers voted for fracking against 261 […]
Fracking begins – how will it affect business energy prices?
The Task Force have released their final report on the process of shale gas fracking and have recommended that exploratory drilling begin as soon as possible. The Task Force on Shale Gas was launched in September 2014 to give careful consideration to public concerns, and to provide an impartial and transparent assessment of the potential […]
UK fracking on the rise but not in Scotland
It seems that government backing has helped to ramp up fracking planning as applications have risen. Ken Cronin, chief executive of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) has announced that he has “seen a significant increase in applications happening around the UK over the course of the last two or three months”. David Cameron has made […]
Shale fracking banned in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s environment minister Mark Durkan has banned shale fracking in the strategic planning policy statement (SPPS) for Northern Ireland. Durkan stated that this would not change unless the Department of the Environment is “satisfied that there is sufficient and robust evidence on all environmental impacts of fracking.” He said: “I have been consistently clear […]
UK coal gasification gets planning go ahead
Despite the unknown impact on the environment and public health, the government has issued over 30 licenses allowing developers to plan coal gasification projects. The process, which resembles shale fracking, has been criticised after a lack of UK commercial testing, so much so, that Scotland have already vetoed it pending a public health impact assessment […]
New fast-track process for fracking applications
A new process has been set up for fracking applications to ensure that the government can fast-track appeals without lengthy decision-making. The measures include identifying councils, which repeatedly fail to determine oil and gas applications within the 16-week statutory timeframe, with subsequent applications potentially decided by the communities secretary. We’re rather bemused by the decision […]
Fracking to begin in Scotland?
Despite the SNP’s vehement opposition to fracking throughout the election campaign, it appears they’ve done a u-turn, with fracking companies lining up to start exploring Scotland. Mr Ratcliffe, whose company owns exploration licences across more than 700 square miles of Scotland, said: “The Scottish government . . . has said to us they’re not against fracking. But what they do need […]
Lancashire veto fracking application
Cuadrilla are reeling from the rejection of their fracking application as Lancashire county council put an end to their shale gas exploration plans. Safe to say that the locals were delighted with the news as more than half of the councillors vetoed the application due to it’s potential impact on the landscape and noise pollution. […]