Further to Ginnie Shaw’s letter (June 27) I’m writing to alert readers to the Government’s intention to make fracking as easy as putting up a garden shed.
Permitted development is the part of UK planning law that allows people to carry out improvements on their home or property (such as putting up a fence or adding a small conservatory) without having to apply to the local council for planning permission.
The Government is now proposing that exploratory drilling for shale gas should also be considered permitted development, meaning that oil and gas companies would not need to apply to the council to construct an exploratory fracking well pad.
These proposals are a serious assault on our democracy. They would prevent local councils and communities from opposing fracking in their area, as people have done in huge numbers all across the country wherever fracking has been proposed.
It seems the Government has realised they are never going to persuade rural or even suburban communities to accept fracking so they are now trying to find some way for the fracking industry to start drilling without consulting local people.
This may well be an issue that politicians of every persuasion can unite to overcome. I do hope so.
Martina Weitsch,
Smithie Close,
New Earswick, York
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