Environment protection organisation Friends of the Earth has voiced concerns about the fracking plans of the government in the North of England.
The government has launched the first tranche of the 14th licensing round for onshore oil and gas fracking, which according to Andrew Pendleton, Friends of the Earth head of campaigns, will trigger a strong reaction.
“Opening up huge swathes of Northern England to a fracking blitz will only provoke more anger and controversy, because wherever fracking has been proposed, it has been opposed by local people, ” Pendleton said.
“The Government’s own report into the rural economy impacts of fracking highlights a myriad of concerns, including a drop in house prices, impacts on tourism, and increased noise and traffic congestion – not to mention local environment and climate risks.
“These offered licences to frack will cause yet more anxiety for people living under the cloud of fracking, now that the Government is allowing companies to drill right through aquifers that are used to supply household drinking water,” he concluded.
Fracking has been an apple of discord for a while now. A survey done on behalf of Greenpeace in May this year showed that two-thirds (67 per cent) of the polled 60 estate agents working close to potential fracking sites in West Sussex, Manchester, and Lancashire believe the controversial technique could bring down house prices and make homes harder to sell.
The majority of agents estimate the loss in value to be 8-11 per cent, with two agents putting it as high as 41-70 per cent.
Just over half (54 per cent) of the estate agents surveyed are concerned fracking could reduce property sales. Most of them believe more than one in ten purchases could be affected, with nine agents putting the estimate as high as 25-50 per cent of all sales.
One in four respondents also said home buyers have expressed concerns about the prospect of fracking in the area.
The government has stated there’s no evidence that fracking will affect house prices. But Greenpeace says that ministers have so far refused to publish in full a report believed to contain evidence of the shale industry’s impact on the housing market.
Three quarters of the estate agents interviewed said fracking should not be permitted until more research is done. All but two (97 per cent) also said the government should publish the report in full.
