Chemicals giant Ineos plans to look for gas under the forest made famous by the legend of Robin Hood.
Ineos, via its land surveyors, has been in contact with the Forestry Commission over access to its land since August 2016, according to documents obtained by Friend of the Earth (FoE).
The company wants to carry out seismic surveys on a number of forests, including Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, with a view to setting up fracking operations.
The seismic surveys would pass within few hundred metres of the Major Oak, an 800-year-old tree under whose canopy Robin Hood’s merry men and women are said to have slept, FoE said.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: “Is nothing sacred? By hunting for shale gas in Sherwood Forest and on National Trust land, chemicals giant INEOS is sticking two fingers up at England’s green heritage, all in the pursuit of profit.
“Ineos should back off and drop their quest for fracking. The public wants to protect their English countryside and prefers renewable energy, not dirty shale gas, which will only add to climate change.”
Ineos has confirmed that it was looking to start work in Sherwood Forest but insisted that great care would be taken to protect the Major Oak, a media report said.
Tom Pickering, Ineos’s Shale operations director, told The Telegraph: “Any decision to position a well site will take into account environmental features such as the Major Oak and the planning process would also consider those issues.”