Extension request for Lancashire fracking site rejected

Cuadrilla began test drilling on land off Preston New Road in Little Plumpton in April 2017, after the then-Conservative government granted permission for a project that had been rejected by Lancashire County Council two years earlier.

One of the conditions of the work was that restoration of the site – which attracted a near-permanent presence from anti-fracking campaigners during its operation – was completed by June 2023.

However, as that deadline approached, the company requested and received approval from the local authority for the timeframe to be extended until June 2025 in order to enable the land to be maintained for a 12-month period of “environmental monitoring”, as required under an Environment Agency permit.

But this summer, it asked for permission to have a further two years to complete the site’s restoration to its previous use as a farm.

Lancashire County Council’s development control committee has now dismissed the latest bid for a time extension after hearing that work to plug and decommission the two wells that had been dug on the site only took place this spring, just weeks before the expiry of the revised deadline Cuadrilla had been granted in 2023.

Committee member Councillor Adrian Owens said that was evidence the company had failed to act “in good faith”.

He said: “When they came for a two year extension, you would have thought they had everything lined up, ready to go, the moment they got that approval, but they hadn’t done any of that."

County council planning officials had recommended the application be refused on the basis it would not be in keeping with a requirement to “secure the restoration of the site at the earliest opportunity”.

Committee members heard from 10 speakers opposed to the extension, several of whom said Cuadrilla should face meaningful sanctions for any further delay.

Fylde West Cllr John Singleton said it was “completely and utterly absurd” that more time was being requested.

“Something different has to be done in order for this company to comply,” he said, adding that “financial penalties” should perhaps be considered.

“I fear in another two years, you’ll be asked for a further two years."

Nick Danby, from campaign group Frack Free Lancashire, said that the current Labour government’s intention to permanently ban fracking meant “there can be no grounds for Cuadrilla’s continued presence” at the location.

He criticised the county council for having previously “indulged the company at every turn”, and said: "There is little point in setting planning conditions if there is no intention to enforce them."

Helen Rimmer, from Friends of the Earth, said it should be made clear to Cuadrilla it is “at risk of prosecution” for future breaches.

The time extension granted in 2023 had come with a requirement for six-monthly reports on progress, but the meeting heard that had not been sufficient to ensure the deadline was met.

On enforcement action, planning officer Flo Churchill said it could be viewed as “unreasonable” if it was done within a year, because of the firm did still need to meet the Environment Agency permit rules for monitoring of the site to take place for 12 months.

To applause from those opposed, the committee unanimously rejected the application.

Cuadrilla was approached for comment.