Changes to planning rules would give Business Secretary final decision on major fracking projects in England, in a move campaigners argue would bypass local concerns.
Proposed changes to planning rules which would give the Business Secretary the final say on major fracking projects in England have been launched for consultation, in a move that has angered climate campaigners.
First announced in May, the government today unveiled proposals deatiling how it wants to include major shale gas projects over a certain size in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime. The move would mean the Secretary of State would have the final say on projects, bypassing local planning committees.
It would mean developers for shale gas projects which meet a certain defined threshold would have to apply for development consent from the Secretary of State, although this would only apply to production phase projects, not to exploration or appraisal projects.
The government argues including major shale gas projects in the NSIP regime would bring such applications into a “well-defined process with clear, established governance and timelines designed for larger and more complex infrastructure projects”.
“This would bring such shale gas production projects in line with other energy projects of national significance such as the development of wind farms and gas fired generation stations,” the consultation document adds.
The government is keen to kick-start the UK’s nascent shale gas sector to reduce reliance on gas imports, and argues a growing fracking industry is consistent with national, legally binding carbon reduction targets and scenarios set out by the Committee on Climate Change.
The consultation document also stresses that local communities should still be “fully involved in planning decisions and any shale planning application – whether decided by councils of government”.
However, the move to tweak planning rules was met with fierce criticism from green campaigners, who argue the changes are designed to steamroller the concerns and consent of local communities, and that the latest consultation has been poorly promoted.
“The government’s proposal to allow free rein to fracking in the British countryside flies in the face of local democracy and threatens to slash community involvement in decision-making,” said Sebastian Kelly, fracking outreach organiser at green group 350 UK. “The fact that the supposedly ‘public’ consultation is being opened without informing those who need to be consulted is in blatant disregard of citizens’ right to be heard.”
Campaigners have also consistently argued that studies suggesting fracking could be made compatible with the UK’s carbon targets are based on a series of policy recommendations covering fracking regulations and carbon capture and storage deployment that the government has not enacted.
As announced in May, the government has also proposed new planning guidance for shale gas development in England and is planning a separate consultation on whether non-hydraulic fracturing shale exploration development should be treated as a permitted development, further weakening planning controls on the industry.
The move comes as Cuadrilla this week completed a second fracking well in Lancashire in the face of local protests, announcing that it expects to secure final consent from the government to start drilling “imminently”. It means fracking could begin at the site within months.
Ken Cronin, chief executive of onshore oil and gas trade body UKOOG, welcomed the latest proposed reforms, which he suggested would help speed up the planning process for fracking projects.
“It must be remembered that planning applications for onshore gas developments have gone from taking three months to over a year to assess, leaving communities with uncertainty and councils under-resourced,” said Cronin. “To ensure that the UK gets the flexible, reliable and secure source of gas it needs, we have to improve those timescales. With five separate regulators ensuring we meet our environmental and operational obligations in everything from well design to traffic management, the government’s plans only seek to ensure that communities, the industry and the nation aren’t left in the dark.”
Article originally appeared on Business Green
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