In the UK Lancashire county council has deferred planning decisions on two proposals from shale gas explorer Cuadrilla, effectively giving the area a short reprieve from the threat of fracking.
The decision on what would be the UK’s first full scale fracking site will be delayed by eight weeks. Council planning officers had last week recommended that permission be refused on certain grounds, but Cuadrilla revised its proposals. The council’s legal adviser saw the changes as “substantive” and said they must now go out for public consultation.
Elsewhere this week the Scottish government has announced a moratorium on all planning consents for unconventional oil and gas extraction, including fracking.
With big decisions being made about the fledgling industry, we want to know how fracking is affecting your area in the UK:
- Do you live somewhere that is already affected by fracking? What does this mean to you?
- Is where you live eligible for fracking? How do you feel about that?
- How do you feel about the decision by the Scottish government?
Share your images and thoughts on how shale gas exploration will directly affect you and your neighbours.
If you want to discuss the issue further, you can come to a Guardian Live event on fracking in Manchester on 10 February. Natalie Bennett of the Green Party and Tony Bosworth from Friends of the Earth will be in attendance. We hope to use a selection of your comments and contributions shared with GuardianWitness to feed the discussion.
Here are some of the contributions so far:
Kites Against Fracking!
I am a resident of the Fylde and am especially worried about the health and enviromental impact that fracking will have on this small,rural area. I have been campaigning for the last 3 years and will continue until Cuadrilla FRACK OFF
Bolton Against Fracking meets Yasmin Quereshi MP
Yasmin Quereshi, one of the MPs to propose a moritorium on fracking, met with a group of concerned locals back in the summer.
Sutton Green says ‘No to Fracking'
At a recent anti-fracking rally at Westminster, Sutton Green Ross Hemingway called on Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, to say no to fracking. Sadly, Tom didn’t. As a Government Whip it was Mr Brake's job to instruct fellow MPs to vote in favour of a fossil fuel future.
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