Rejection of INEOS test drill application in South Yorkshire welcomed

Press release
Rotherham Borough Council rejected application for exploratory shale gas drilling near Harthill
  Published:  25 Jan 2018    |      2 minute read

Rotherham Borough Council planners today rejected the application by chemicals giant INEOS to conduct exploratory drills for shale gas near the village of Harthill in South Yorkshire, to the delight of campaigners.

This decision shows that industry plans can be frustrated, and that community coordination can result in big wins. Campaigners will be bolstered by today’s news, and people in other areas where exploratory drilling is proposed will also claim this as a victory against the industry – though the fight is not yet over with an Inquiry pending.

This is the first application for exploratory drilling by INEOS to be considered by a local planning committee in England. The company has ambitious plans [1] to drill numerous fracking wells across the Midlands and North of England. INEOS has also applied to conduct test drills near Eckington (Derbyshire) and Woodsetts (also in Rotherham) - both within 10 miles of the Harthill site and due to be considered by local planners shortly.

INEOS has recently applied to the Planning Inspectorate for the Eckington and Harthill applications to be decided by a government appointed planning inspector because it believes “no local decisions have been made in a reasonable time period” [2]. Today’s decision by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is an important consideration for the planning inspector in the planning inquiry which could take place as early as May. Rotherham MBC officers had recommended that Councillors reject the planning application at today’s hearing.

Deborah Gibson, campaigner with Harthill Against Fracking, said:

“This is excellent news for Harthill! The much bigger fight against the development of fracking here and in other surrounding areas, has received a boost today. It means that local democratic processes have allowed the people of Harthill to say NO and to be heard and validated by the local planning system. The next step is to take our fight to the Public Inquiry later this year. We hope the inspector will understand that the plans for fracking exploration site at Harthill are unacceptable for all the reasons stated today by the RMBC Planning Committee”.

Richard Dyer, campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said:

“It’s great that today Rotherham planners have listened to local community concerns and rightly decided that the impacts of this proposal would be damaging and unacceptable. We now look forward to supporting the Council’s position at the public inquiry.”

“We know that we have to leave the majority of fossil fuel resources in the ground if we are to prevent dangerous climate change, so it makes absolutely no sense to investigate the potential for fracking.”

Dave Kesteven, campaigner with Eckington Against Fracking, said:

“I’m absolutely delighted that the council have decided to support those who elect them and not a multinational plastics manufacturer whose activities would disrupt our communities and pollute our environment.

"I am sure that this victory will be repeated at the public inquiry and sets a heartening precedent for our village of Marsh Lane which is fighting a similar threat.”

Andy Tickle, director of CPRE South Yorkshire, said:

"We are pleased that the Council's Planning Board has decided that drilling in this sensitive location is inappropriate and that the impacts were not fully evaluated. We will be strongly supporting the Council at the public inquiry that will now be held to decide the application."

Harthill Against Fracking, Friends of the Earth and CPRE spoke at the planning hearing at Rotherham Town Hall this afternoon. They are available for broadcast interviews.

Notes:
1. INEOS owns 1.2million acres of PEDLs (Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences) across the UK and announced in 2014 that it wants to be the biggest player in the UK fracking industry.

2. The INEOS ‘non determination’ press release is downloadable from the Derbyshire County Council website.