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Cuadrilla has received backing from Lancashire County Council to explore for shale gas at one of its two sites.
Planning officials today recommended that the fracking firm receive planning consent to extract shale gas at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire, marking the first time a council has backed an application for fracking since the government’s temporary ban.
The recommendation could pave the way for full approval following next week’s council vote.
However, the company’s Roseacre wood site has been recommended for refusal, due to the impact operations would have on traffic.
In January last year, officers recommended refusal at Preston New Road “on grounds of night-time noise”.
In a statement, a Cuadrilla spokesperson said it had “duly submitted” additional information on traffic mitigation measures at its Preston New Road site and was “pleased” that Lancashire Council’s planning officers have now recommended that the site receive consent.
The firm added that it has supplied additional information regarding traffic routes which it believes “addressed issues raised in the officer’s report in January”.
“We are disappointed that officers do not support this in their negative recommendation today,” it said. “However we are pleased to note that as with Preston New Road, they are satisfied with all other aspects of the Roseacre Wood planning applications. We will await the councillors’ decisions on both these applications at the end of June.”
In January, Cuadrilla received the go-ahead from the Environment Agency (EA) for plans to extract shale gas at Preston New Road. EA’s environment manager for Lancashire Steve Molyneux said the Council was “confident” the permits issued will “ensure people and the environment are protected”.
Over the weekend, The Telegraph reported that Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan had said the company was “quietly confident” that the government will allow the plans to move ahead.
Safety concerns have dogged the development of the UK’s burgeoning shale industry since tremors in Blackpool in 2012 prompted the government to impose a moratorium on fracking pending further investigation.
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