Rejecting plans for test fracking in Lancashire would send a message that the county was not open for business and investment, a campaign group has warned.
Members of the North West Energy Task Force said it would be a missed opportunity to create jobs and “significantly” boost the local economy.
The coalition, which includes local businesses, academics, farmers and students, spoke out on the eve of the beginning of the decision-making process on proposals by shale company Cuadrilla for two sites between Preston and Blackpool.
Planning officers at Lancashire Council have recommended the application for a site at Preston New Road near Little Plumpton be passed, subject to a number of conditions being met, but plans for a similar site at Roseacre Wood should be turned down because of an increase in traffic.
The council’s development control committee will have the final say this week on whether Cuadrilla can explore for shale gas by drilling, fracking and testing the flow of gas. Separate applications would need to be submitted if the firm wanted to progress to commercial fracking.
Among those speaking today was Steve Pye, a former chairman of the Blackpool and Fylde and Wyre branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, who pointed out that concerns had been voiced when the nuclear, aerospace and chemicals industries all set up in the region.
That had not led to an adverse impact on local people or local house prices, he said.
Contemplating a refusal of the plans, Mr Pye said: “Is Lancashire open for business? Is Lancashire open for investment? We cannot be selective in what we do because we have got the best experts in the world and they are advising us that as long as we follow the criteria it is a safe place.
“If we say no to both sites, it will go to somebody else in the UK who are already prepared and ready to go, and they will take it all over and we will miss the opportunity.
“It is a brand new industry that could create a lot of jobs. It would lift the the average wage and it would boost the local economy significantly.
“We have got the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and Department and the Department of Energy and Climate Change that employ experts who have been educated in the UK to the highest levels.
“We are the country that banned conkers, skipping and hopscotch in the playground, and I don’t believe that any of those three agencies would allow something unsafe to go ahead it they thought it was unsafe.
“As long as they (Cuadrilla) follow the rules and the guidelines, as long as it safe, it is a winner for Lancashire.”
Janet Thornton, founder of Kirkham-based consultancy firm Inspired Energy, said: “I believe it will expand jobs everywhere.
“The cost of energy is the biggest issue to growth of any business. Some of the companies that we have been working with say they have gone down to three day weeks and they have lost contracts and orders.
“If we can bring the price down and (have) stability, I believe that every business will start to grow and will see the benefit overall.”
She added: “I think you will always have strong opposition because people in the North West don’t like change.
“We need to progress as a community. Lancashire needs putting on the map.
“Don’t lose this opportunity.
“What it will bring is new talent. We are going to give opportunities for the next generation and what it will bring is energy costs down and that will benefit everybody.”
Mr Pye said: “Henry Ford would not have got any further if they (people) all had told him at the time when he went to build his first car: ’Oh by the way Henry, there is going to be 100 people a week in the UK who will die on the roads, we are not going to let you go ahead and manufacture your cars because it’s not going to be safe’.
“Where do you draw the line? There is always going to be opposition. Not everyone supports Man United.”
The task force openly says it is supported by Cuadrilla but Mike Damms, chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said his organisation was “nobody’s poodle”.
He said: “We are here precisely because we are independent , we have no involvement with Cuadrilla. We are doing it because it is the right and proper stance to take on behalf of businesses in our part of Lancashire.”
A group of local sixth formers, college and university students later gathered on the steps of County Hall in Preston to call for the approval of the plans.
Julian Hine, a student at Blackpool and The Fylde College, said: “At the college we’re learning a lot about the technical aspects of shale gas and the skills required to work in the industry. The approval of the applications would be great news for Lancashire and the whole of the UK.
“For me and my friends, further exploration would be an exciting step towards Lancashire becoming a hub for a major new industry.”
The Government is pushing for the development of a shale gas industry in the UK, claiming it would create jobs and growth, reduce energy prices and cut the country’s reliance on gas imports.
Opponents have raised fears that the process causes earthquakes, can pollute water supplies, and could lead to inappropriate development in the countryside and damage house prices.
Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – involves pumping water, chemicals and sand at high pressure underground to fracture shale rock and release the gas trapped in it.
