Would-be shale developers in the UK should learn from landfill firms over improving community relations, an environmental boss has urged.
Communities across the country have been offered cash incentives if fracking projects take place near their towns as part of a new shale drive by the Government.
The move has sparked controversy, with anti-fracking campaigners accusing the Government of trying to bribe communities and councils into approving drilling projects.
But William Beattie, of environmental body EB Scotland, says the fracking industry should follow the approach used by landfill developers in paying back to communities.
The Landfill Communities Fund, launched in 1996, has paid out more than £1billion to projects, from town playgrounds to the Millenium Wheel in Falkirk.
“There is no denying the similarities in public interest between landfill and shale developments and it is extremely important to get across the message that this is not a bribe for giving the green-light to operators,” said Beattie.
“An independent, not-for-profit body can carry out a thorough consultation with a community on the best use of funds without the emotion of why and whether the development should be there in the first place.”
Shale operators have agreed to hand £100,000 to the community when a test well is fracked, along with 1% of revenues from operations going to community projects.
Speaking ahead of the Unconventional Gas conference in Aberdeen this March, Beattie warned a move to set up an independent system for funding community projects was necessary to ensure funds were allocated in the right way.
“Many lessons can be learned from the model used by the Landfill Communities Fund, particularly around the independent approach taken to consultation and funds allocation,” he said.
“A financial injection can have a significant impact on a small area and it is crucial that projects leave a lasting legacy to benefit the greater good of the community and not the few individuals who shout the loudest.”
