Calls for East Sussex County Council to adopt policy of opposing fracking

On Monday (November 21), Cllr Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, is set to consider the wording of a motion set for debate at an upcoming full council meeting.

Jointly submitted by Green Party co-leader Georgia Taylor and Labour co-leader Chris Collier, the original motion calls on the authority to “resolve to oppose, as a matter of council policy, any initiatives to develop fracking, or other methods, for the extraction of shale oil or gas in East Sussex.”

Officers are advising against this wording, however, saying it could be seen as ‘predetermination’ of future planning applications.

This is relevant because East Sussex County Council, as a minerals planning authority, would be partly responsible for deciding whether potential fracking developments can go ahead. In this role, planning committee members are obligated to consider such schemes with an open mind.

No such applications have previously been approved or submitted within East Sussex, nor have any fracking operators sought pre-application advice about any potential schemes, officers say.

The report also notes that a national moratorium on fracking was reimposed on October 26, having been briefly lifted by the Liz Truss-led government in September. The motion had been submitted in this gap, the report said.

Welcoming the reimposition of the moratorium, officers say, would not amount to ‘predetermination’, while allowing councillors to voice their concerns about the controversial practice.

As a result, officers are recommending an alternative motion, which reads: “The county council recognises the significant public concerns over any initiatives to develop fracking, or other methods, for the extraction of shale oil or gas in East Sussex.

“The county council, therefore, supports the government’s recent announcement that reinstates the moratorium on fracking.”

Cllr Dowling is asked to approve this alternative wording for debate at an as-yet-unspecified full council meeting, most likely on December 6. During that meeting, councillors Taylor and Collier will also have the opportunity to put forward their original wording for debate.