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Councils should have ‘final say’ on fracking, as Javid overturns Lancashire veto

Local government should have the final say in the planning process, councils have said after the communities and local government secretary upheld an appeal to allow fracking in Lancashire.

Sajid Javid announced yesterday that he is upholding an appeal by company Cuadrilla to allow its application to drill for gas in the north west, which was rejected by Lancashire County Council last year after a lengthy public campaign.

Cllr Marcus Johnstone, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for environment, planning and cultural services, said: “This was one of the biggest planning applications ever put before any council – literally tens of thousands of people responded to the consultation processes, and the applications involved substantial levels of technical detail.

“Our development control committee carefully considered many hours of evidence both for and against the proposal, and the committee members ultimately cast their vote based on the evidence they heard and whether they thought the proposal was acceptable in planning terms.

“A local council, made up of councillors democratically elected by local people, and charged with serving their interests, is exactly the right body to make decisions on local matters. It is clear that the government supports the development of a shale gas industry, but I would ask them to do more to address the concerns of local communities and the councillors who represent them by supporting the best environmental controls.”

Cllr Judith Blake, the LGA’s environment spokesperson, added that it should be up to local communities to decide, “through their locally democratic planning systems, whether or not to host fracking operations in their areas”.

“Ensuring communities feel safe is important,” she said. “Any company that applies for a fracking licence must assure residents through their council that environment and safety concerns can and will be adequately addressed before planning permission is considered.

“People living near fracking sites - who are most affected by them - have a right to be heard. Local planning procedure exists for a reason, to ensure a thorough and detailed consultation with those communities.”

(Image: anti-fracking protestors outside Preston County Hall last year, c. Peter Byrne from PA Wire and Press Association Images)

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