Draft Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing (Protected Areas) Regulations 2015
Debate between Graham P Jones and Alan Whitehead
Dr Whitehead
I was in the process of saying that there is no clarity in the statutory instrument—although the Minister suggested that at some stage a definition might be brought forward—with respect to the rest of the fracking process, the drilling itself, vehicle movements, the pads, the treatment of waste water and so on, on the site.
From the definition in the statutory instrument—which, I agree, also has to be read in conjunction with the requirements on local authorities to certify that fracking is not taking place within any of the stated protected areas in their planning area—the Secretary of State could lawfully give permission for fracking wells to be established on the surface of all the areas in question, provided only that the 1,200 metre condition was met when it came to the actual fracking proceedings. The statutory instrument therefore completely overthrows the assurances and written definitions in the Infrastructure Act 2015.
Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)
My hon. Friend makes a powerful case for our serious concerns about today’s proposals. He says that he struggles to find a reason for the manner in which the Government are bringing the measure forward; but on pages 10 and 11 of the impact assessment we see nothing but spreadsheets about the value—presumably to the Treasury as well as to the economy—and about numbers and financial benefits. Is not that one reason for the introduction of the measure?
Dr Whitehead
My hon. Friend may well be right. He has drawn attention to the impact assessment accompanying the statutory instrument, which dwells at length on the relative utility for the public—or private—purse of fracking at 1,000 metres or 1,200 metres. Even assuming—this is what the hon. Member for Newbury and I were puzzling about a little while ago—that there could conceivably be a proposition that one could drill diagonally from outside the areas in question below 1,200 metres, and that that would not give rise to a great deal more danger or problems for the whole process than drilling vertically down, a 200 metre “additional protection zone” seems an odd creation.
Either the 1,000 metre limit below which fracking may take place nationally is deemed not to be safe, but under these particular areas 1,200 metres is safe—in which case why is there a 1,000 metre prohibition for the rest of the country, and additional protection under areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks—or there is no difference as to protection. In that case, the statutory instrument is a completely vacant measure, which should not have been put before the Committee in its present form, as it makes no difference to the reality of what goes on under the surface.
There is another strange locution in the statutory instrument, about the question of what a national park is. The regulation refers to
“land at a depth of less than 1,200 metres beneath…a National Park”
as if a national park were merely what is on the surface. In planning terms, it is not possible to be granted planning permission in a national park if what is under the national park is not taken into account. The definition of a national park is not just the surface of the national park; in planning terms, it is the surface and what is under the national park. Therefore, we cannot decide to introduce even secondary legislation that treats a national park as if what is under it is nothing to do with it and as if the national park is merely a millimetre deep linear feature on the surface of the earth.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Graham P Jones and Alan Whitehead(11 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)
Q4. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on levels of construction output.
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)
Q11. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on fiscal incentives for the construction of affordable housing.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)
The Government are committed to supporting new housing supply while maximising value for money. The Government committed £4.5 billion to support 170,000 affordable homes over the spending review period, and we have added a further 30,000 to that figure through the guarantee programme that was announced last year and extended in the Budget a few weeks ago.