Calls to rule out fracking in West Berkshire 

A recently published policy at West Berkshire Council allows exploratory drilling and commercial production of oil and gas, but only after passing stringent conditions. 

There is a “significant” coal seam and pockets of shale gas across the district, according to policy 12 of the council’s minerals and waste plan. 

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Councillor Steve Masters (Green, Speen) said: “Why it is even included is beyond comprehension.”

This month the council published a draft of their environment strategy — an action plan on how to deal with the climate emergency and get West Berkshire to carbon neutral by 2030. 

But Cllr Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley & Cold Ash), lead for planning, denied that the policy allowing fracking goes against the commitment to reduce carbon emissions. 

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She said: “By having a policy which clearly states how any application for fracking will be determined in West Berkshire, the council is … saying to developers that they will need to prove they can achieve all of these requirements before permission would be granted. 

“It is setting the bar so high that given the lack of known commercial resources, no company would be willing to come here and try to find deposits.”

But opposition councillors have said they would rule out fracking and opening new coal mines altogether. 

Cllr Alan Macro (Lib Dem, Theale) said: “Liberal Democrat policy is to ban both fracking and the opening of new coal mines. This is because of the environmental damage and because we want to phase out fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions.” 

Cllr Masters said: “After the declaration of the climate emergency WBC should rule out any chance of such fossil fuel exploration and extraction. 

“West Berkshire Green Party will be lobbying to change the mineral plan to ensure such activities are explicitly ruled out, not as they stand presently within policy number 12.”

The council needs its own local plan on energy minerals, because otherwise future applications for planning permission to frack in West Berkshire would be subject to national policy, according to Cllr Cole. 

She said: “The council therefore believes it is prudent to have policy 12 included in the minerals and waste local plan, so that in the unlikely event it does receive an application for ‘fracking’, it can determine the planning application against local policies and not national policies.”

Cllr Cole added there are no known commercial resources of oil and gas in West Berkshire, and that the government does not allow councils to rule out fracking.