Mike Amesbury quizzes bosses over changes to fracking laws
MIKE Amesbury MP has grilled industry bosses on proposed changes to planning laws which he says could lead to fracking being forced on neighbourhoods against their wishes.
Companies such as Ineos already have permission to explore for shale gas across large swathes of Cheshire, and Mr Amesbury, MP for Weaver Vale, which covers most of east Runcorn, was recently branded a ‘nimby’ by senior Conservative minister Liz Truss when he raised the issue during Prime Minister’s Questions of a farmer in his constituency who allegedly had representatives of Ineos show up on her land with a view to exploring for shale deposits.
A spokesman for Mr Amesbury said the Prime Minister Theresa May and the Tory Government are staunchly pro-fracking and reforms to planning would mean hydraulic fracturing applications would be decided at national level rather than by councillors.
As a member of the Communities And Local ● Government Select Committee, longstanding fracking opponent Mr Amesbury recently quizzed industry bosses including Ken Cronin, UK Onshore Oil And Gas chief executive, Matt Lambert, Cuadrilla’s director of government and public affairs, and Lynn Calder, Ineos Shale commercial director.
Fracking supporters claim extracting shale gas is safe and will ensure UK energy security by reducing demand for supplies from turbulent parts of the world or antagonist regimes and oligarchs.
Mr Amesbury asked Ms Calder how she could convince him that planning decisions should have ‘more emphasis on national policy rather than be informed by local planning authorities’.
She replied that from the industry’s perspective, planning delays were ‘unacceptable’ but added ‘we’ve never sought to have these decisions taken out of the hands of local communities, we believe they should be taken by local communities’.
Speaking outside the chamber, Mr Amesbury added: “Fracking is a huge issue in my constituency and beyond. The danger here is that a profracking administration in Westminster sets the tone for these projects being imposed on communities which simply don’t want them, completely overriding the decisions of elected representatives.”