Campaigner to take legal challenge over fracking to Court of Appeal

An anti-fracking campaigner is to take his legal challenge to the Government’s decision to approve fracking in Lancashire to the Court of Appeal.

Last month Mr Justice Dove in the Planning Court dismissed Gayzer Frackman’s challenge to the Communities Secretary’s decision to grant planning permission to fracking company Cuadrilla for exploratory works at a site in Lancashire.

The minister had given planning permission on 6 October 2016 following a planning inquiry. Cuadrilla had appealed after Lancashire County Council refused to grant permission for the works at the Preston New Road site because of the noise and traffic impact.

Mr Frackman had argued before the judge that:

• The decision reached by the Communities Secretary was unlawful on the basis that the ES [Environmental Statement] produced in support of the application was defective as it did not provide a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impacts which arose in the case.
• It was irrational for the minister to have approved the application on the basis that in the light of the evidence, and applying the precautionary principle, he could not have rationally concluded that it was appropriate to grant consent, and that public health and other associated impacts would be reduced to an acceptable level and effectively controlled by the regulatory regime.

Mr Justice Dove said Mr Frackman’s first ground was arguable but had not been made out in substance. The judge found that the second ground was not arguable so permission to apply for judicial review in that respect was refused.

The Planning Court judge also rejected a challenge brought by the Preston New Road Action Group.

The judge’s ruling would allow shale rock to be drilled into horizontally for the first time in the UK through a series of exploratory wells.

Environmental law barrister, Marc Willers QC of Garden Court Chambers representing Mr Frackman, said: “We are taking this case to the Court of Appeal on the basis the Government did not fully assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions likely to be generated from the site over the next three years, before it approved fracking on the site, contrary to the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations.

“The appeal also questions whether it was safe for the Government to grant permission for fracking in the absence of a robust regulatory system that ensures fracking can be carried out without risk to health and with minimal damage to the environment”.

Mr Frackman (pictured), from Blackpool, became involved in opposing fracking when his property was damaged by two earthquakes in Lancashire caused by fracking in 2011.

He said: “This case is vitally important because it seeks to hold the Government to account for failing to protect its citizens from the health impacts of fracking and the untold damage it will cause to our environment and those living near the site.

"We do not consider the regulatory system in the UK is sufficiently robust to ensure that shale gas extraction is safe for local residents. Moreover, it is our view that the government is simply wrong to permit so-called ‘exploratory’ fracking when, in fact, the operations will amount to full-scale production in disguise.”

Mr Frackman is represented by Estelle Dehon of Cornerstone Barristers and Paul Stookes of Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law Solicitors, in addition to Marc Willers QC. The Environmental Law Foundation helped him find a legal team to work on the case.