Fracking Planning Regulations to Change?

The Parish Council has been informed by the Cheshire Association of Local Councils about a Government consultation on shale gas exploration (fracking) and the related planning process.

Currently, applications to explore for shale gas are subject to the same planning process as building a house. The application is made to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) – in our case, Cheshire East Council. The LPA then seeks views from parish/town councils and local residents before councillors make a decision. As you will be aware, this has led to councils refusing the application and the applicant going to Appeal.

However, the Government is now proposing to circumvent this democratic planning process in two ways. It intends to:

• make exploratory shale gas well pads a Permitted Development Right (typically used hitherto for minor home extensions and temporary small construction) thus obviating the requirement for planning permission, and;
• bring shale gas production into the National Strategic Infrastructure Project regime, so removing planning applications from local control at council level to a central government departmental inspectorate, leading to the compulsory acquisition of land.

The area which includes Audlem is one of 73 areas in the country which have been granted a licence for fracking. So this proposed change to the planning process could have a direct impact on the area.

Residents can read the proposal which can be found here.
and complete the consultation document which can be found here.

Residents are also urged to write to our MP, Antoinette Sandbach to make their views clear about this proposed change. Her email address is antoinette.sandbach.mp@parliament.uk

The deadline for responses is 25th October 2018

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