County councillors have turned down plans to frack for shale gas in Lancashire.
Councillors refused the application because they considered the development would cause an unacceptable impact on the landscape and visual amenities, in contrary to the Fylde Local Plan.
Following the outcome, Friends of the Earth North West campaigner Furqan Naeem said: “People in Lancashire and across the UK who have been tirelessly campaigning against fracking will breathe a sigh of relief today – safe in the knowledge that this dirty industry that risks health, quality of life and the climate has been stopped in its tracks once again.
“In the teeth of massive pressure from Cuadrilla and Westminster, Lancashire’s brave county councillors have voted to protect their citizens and the local environment – the winners today are democracy and the people of Lancashire.
“Both Cuadrilla and the Government must respect Lancashire’s decision and not try to force unpopular fracking on these communities. Many polls show that the public wants renewable energy, not fracking – and the clean energy and long-term jobs it provides.
“The stakes for local people, for democracy and for the environment could not be higher. Though all three emerge as victors today, the fight against fracking and dirty energy is far from over.”
Greenpeace UK energy and climate campaigner Daisy Sands said: “This decision is a Waterloo for the fracking industry and a triumph for local democracy. It’s also a huge boost for efforts to kick the UK’s addiction to dangerous fossil fuels.
“Lancashire councillors deserve huge praise for standing up to the relentless pressure from the fracking lobby and their minister friends. Their decision sends a powerful signal to other councils that the fracking juggernaut can indeed be stopped.
“Cuadrilla’s defeat should trigger a reality-check from a Government that has staked so much of Britain’s energy future on this controversial industry. In the year where the world is coming together to find a solution to our fossil fuel problem, we should be trying to harness the potential of clean energy and efficiency instead of deploying risky techniques to squeeze more polluting gas from under our feet.”
Energy firm Cuadrilla wanted to undertake exploratory drilling and fracking at a site in Little Plumpton, between Preston and Blackpool.
Planning officials recommended approval of the operation subject to a number of conditions but councillors have rejected the advice and voted against.
Members of the council’s development control committee voted 10-4 to reject the application.
It followed a motion passed by the committee that it should be turned down because it would cause an unacceptable impact on the landscape, visual amenities and noise.
Members of the public including residents living near to the proposed site stood up and applauded the committee when the motion was passed.
Cuadrilla had wanted to frack and test the flow of gas at the site following drilling at up to four exploration wells.
The Government has said it is going “all out for shale”, claiming it would create jobs and growth, reduce energy prices and cut the country’s reliance on gas imports.
But opponents have raised fears that the process causes earthquakes, can pollute water supplies, could lead to inappropriate development in the countryside and damage house prices.
Environmental campaigners and local opponents of fracking had been protesting outside County Hall in Preston, calling for councillors to reject the proposals.
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.