Rotherham councillors expected to back fracking ban on public land

The dominant Labour group on Rotherham Borough Council will propose a motion not to allow drilling for shale gas on council-owned or council-controlled land in the borough,. 

Proposer Cllr Dominic Beck, whose ward is subject to fracking proposals, said: “The Labour Party commited to banning fracking in the recent 2017 General Election. 

“Myself and Cllr (Katherine) Wilson (who is seconding the motion) represent areas that are impacted by proposals around fracking and we have both met local residents and attended community meetings in Harthill and Woodsetts to hear their concerns. 

“This motion represents those concerns and demonstrates our efforts locally to do what we can to protect our communities from fracking.”

In Rotherham, fracking has never been carried out but companies are investigating the possibility of fracking in the borough. 

Oil and gas firm INEOS Shale have made a planning application that sought permission for an exploratory well on an area of privately-owned land in the south of the borough. 

A motion set to go before this afternoon’s full council meeting criticised UKIP’s support for fracking and proposes that no fracking activities, including survey work, on should be allowed on land owned or controlled by the council.

The ban will not affect the proposals in place for Harthill or Woodsetts, as the sites are not on public land, but will be see as a gesture of support for campaigners and disapproval of fracking in general, in line with the national Labour policy.