Trafford Council has deferred a controversial planning application by fracking firm IGas for Coal Bed Methane testing and production at the Davyhulme site occupied by campaigners from Salford and Trafford earlier this year.
Trafford's Breathe Clean Air Group (BCAG), which fought a long running battle against Peel Holdings plans for an incinerator near the proposed site, again objected to the IGas plans, pointing out that Trafford's councillors had only been briefed on the proposals by IGas itself.
Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth wrote to the Council three times over the past week warning the council that its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was flawed, while a petition signed by 1,300 people objecting to the application was handed in to the Council which subsequently decided to defer consideration of the IGas plans.
The statement from Trafford Council read...
"The Council has agreed to defer consideration of the application for Coal Bed Methane testing and production (81446/RENEWAL/2013) from tonight's Planning Committee meeting in order to enable it to give further consideration to environmental issues raised by objectors.
"This application has raised a number of detailed and conflicting environmental issues and it is important that the Council acts to ensure that its decision is fully informed in relation to these matters" it added "The application will come back to committee once we are satisfied that these issues have been addressed."
The Breathe Clean Air Group responded...
"The Council's unusual last minute deferral announcement states that there are `a number of detailed and conflicting environmental issues'. This raises some crucial questions and we will now be requesting the exact details of specifically which issues and specifically how are they currently understood to be in conflict.
"Furthermore, we agree wholeheartedly that it is important that the Council acts to ensure that its decision is `fully informed' in relation to these matters, especially so since the IGas application seeks permission to impose consequences on our air, water, land, health and community for 25 years" it explained "It is self-evidently not possible for the Council decision to be fully informed if the Planning Committee members are required to rely on limited internal Council resources and a partial briefing to Councillors recently by IGas, the applicant in this case.
"BCAG will once again be offering to Councillors a briefing meeting that will contain vital environmental and other information that will assist the Council to be genuinely fully informed – information that will certainly not have been included in the IGas briefing" it added "We sincerely hope that our offer will now be welcomed."
Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth North West Campaigner, Helen Rimmer, responded:
"This raises serious concerns about the regulatory system - if Friends of the Earth hadn't raised concerns, the flaws in this poorly assessed gas exploration and production scheme may well have been ignored.
"Over 1300 people have already signed a petition against these unpopular plans which could lead to fracking and health risks for local people" she added "We believe the impacts of this proposal on air quality, climate change and the environment are far too high, and it should be rejected when it next comes before the Council."
See also previous Salford Star articles on the Davyhulme site, and air quality impacts for Salford – click here and click here
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