UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) said it was “extremely disappointed” with the news, but that this was just “one adverse planning decision” despite the “professional judgement of planning officials, leading counsel and expert agencies” who backed the application “based on the fact that all of the environmental, safety, health and local issues had been addressed”.
Chief executive Ken Cronin said: “An important plank of the government’s energy policy and manifesto commitment has been reduced to a position that, despite all the advice, a rejection has been given.”
UKOOG pointed out that two “very similar” planning applications were heard by the Council with respect to monitoring and seismic equipment, with one accepted and one rejected.
The group insisted the government “urgently review” the process of decision-making to “ensure planning decisions are made in the prescribed timescales”. Cronin said: “This one has taken 15 months as opposed to a guideline of 16 weeks. This lengthy delay is bad for the industry and the communities involved.”
“There is a growing coalition in this country including manufacturing industries and trade unions that support the need for shale from an economic, environmental and energy security perspective,” he added. “Eighty per cent of our homes are supported by gas for heating and the chemical industry supports 500,000 jobs that use gas as the raw material to make products as diverse as toothpaste and computers.”
“Other exploration companies have already stated they will be putting in their own applications very shortly”.