I was delighted recently to have helped successfully propose and negotiate a motion through Mendip District Council, to raise concerns about the harmful impacts of ‘fracking’ for shale gas, which could be proposed in future.

The cross-party motion, which was agreed unanimously by councillors, aims to control and to prevent fracking in Mendip, and demands that the county and Government ensure proper investigations into the effects on our environment and health, in order to properly protect our part of Somerset. A working party is now forming to take this forward.

Please see here for more details: http://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/2013/10/01/delight-at-mendips-cross-party-agreement-on-fracking/

and here for next steps and links to more information.

Update 5th December:

The first meeting of the cross-party Mendip District Council Fracking Working Group has been held. The terms of reference and a number of actions were agreed. The state of play in relation to potential developers, PEDL licences, Government planning policy and guidance, and Somerset County minerals policy were discussed.  We await the next consultation stage on Somerset County Council’s Minerals Local Plan early next year, which the Group and other Mendip councillors will seek to comment on.   Mendip’s Chief Executive and Leader will shortly meet with officials from DECC (as agreed in the Motion in September) and report back to the Group. I for one will remain vigilant on this issue.

Update 17 January 2014:

Nationally, the Government have issued an Environmental Report on their proposals for further onshore licensing of oil and gas (including use of ‘fracking’) over much of the country (through licensing, although planning permission would still be required from the County Council). See https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/environmental-report-for-further-onshore-oil-and-gas-licensing for DECC’s Environmental Report. See the article from the Guardian on this here: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/17/fracking-huge-impact-uk-shale-gas-industry-revealed

See also a review by Leigh Day & Co.’s Carol Day – http://www.leighday.co.uk/News/2014/January-2014/Full-speed-ahead-for-shale-gas

I will be reviewing this, and asking both Mendip District Council and Frome Town Council to prepare a suitable response to the DECC consultation.

At the same time, the Prime Minister has announced he is going all out for shale gas, and issued further encouragement for the fracking industry – http://www.theguardian.com/environment/shale-gas

Update March 2014:

There have been no meetings of Mendip District Council’s Fracking Working Party since January.  No developer activity is reported in Mendip. Somerset County Council are consulting on the Pre-Submission Minerals Plan, including Policy SMP7 on oil and gas, runs until 14 April, see here. The Government’s Strategic Environmental Assessment Report on onshore oil and gas runs until 28^th March – see here.

 

 

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