Shale Gas Extraction Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Justin Madders
Main Page: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)Department Debates - View all Justin Madders's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Shale Gas Extraction
Justin Madders Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Mr Rees-Mogg
I think I have made it very clear that the companies will have a deep responsibility to develop packages that make the extraction of shale gas attractive to local communities. It is very important for them to succeed in that.
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)
The people of Ellesmere Port have already signalled their opposition to fracking. A planning application was submitted a number of years ago, the local authority rejected it, there was an appeal, many residents gave evidence against the application and after three years it was finally decided that it would not be accepted. Chester zoo, a big employer in my constituency, said today that it was opposed to fracking, and many of my constituents are repeating their objections. There is no local consent in Ellesmere Port and Neston, so will the Secretary of State send the fracking companies the message that there is no point in their coming to ask, because they will not get our agreement?
Mr Rees-Mogg
Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find. It is absolutely important that we try to get local consent, and that will require the drilling companies to be innovative in the packages that they come up with. We should not be ashamed of paying people who are going to be the ones who do not get the immediate benefit of the gas but have the disruption: that is a perfectly logical thing to do.