Cuadrilla has been granted two further years to restore its controversial fracking site on Preston New Road to its former use as an ‘unremarkable field’.  Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee has agreed to a contentious request from Cuadrilla to delay for a further two years the restoration deadline of July 2023 until July 2025.

However, currently no further fracking will be allowed to be carried out during that extended timeframe. This is because there is at present an indefinite ban in place on fracking. This ban was reinstated when Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister.  Came after this renewed ban the short lived PM Liz Truss (remember her!) announced in September 2022 that she would remove the block on fracking where there was ‘local support’ for the process.

Fylde MP Mark Menzies has today (Thursday 8th June) said, ‘The decision to extend Cuadrilla’s licence at Preston New Road is incredibly disappointing. I share the view of the majority of Fylde residents that fracking is simply not appropriate for our area and I remain assured that, with the Government’s continuing commitment to its moratorium on fracking in the UK, there is simply no future for Preston New Road.

This decision merely prolongs the site’s inevitable decommissioning and return to its previous farmland state, while coming at significant cost to Caudrilla and to the immense frustration of residents. I will again be pushing the County Council to ensure that this is the final such extension offered to Cuadrilla and that the company undertake the necessary restoration work as soon as possible.