The final decision on whether to allow fracking in Lancashire will be made directly by the government, it was confirmed today.
Shale gas explorer Cuadrilla, part-owned by Centrica (LON:CNA), had an application initially turned down in June on traffic grounds, even though the council’s planning officer concluded it had met all environmental and planning guidelines.
A government overrule would be a huge boost for Cuadrilla, which is appealing Lancashire County Council's rejection.
Most planning appeals are decided by a planning inspector, but Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark is using the ‘recovery’ procedure, giving him the right to decide the outcome.
The appeal will be heard by the planning inspector, as is usual, but the final decision will be Clark’s, who reportedly told Lancashire County Council of his decision on Thursday.
Cuadrilla has changed its transport plans to avoid local villages and added on Friday that it “looks forward” to presenting its new plans to Clark.
“We note the decision of the secretary of state for communities and local government to decide the appeals after the Planning Inspector has conducted the Public Inquiry and produced a report and recommendations,” Cuadrilla said.
“This is part of the long established planning process and we look forward to presenting our case at the Public Inquiry commencing in February.”
Shares in IGas (LON:IGAS), another shale gas group with extensive interests in Lancashire through the Bowland Shale, rose 6% to 18.2p, while Centrica was flat at 221p.