Draft Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing (Protected Areas) Regulations 2015

Lord Herbert of South Downs Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2015 General Committees

[Andrea Leadsom]

I cannot give way again, because many Members wish to speak.

Turning briefly to surface level protections, our existing regulatory and planning regimes already offer strong protections to sensitive areas. In addition, the Government have separately committed to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of national parks and other protected areas. Members can be reassured that that remains the Government’s position. We are considering how best to implement that surface restriction, but the draft regulations before us today are not a suitable vehicle, because they flows from the Infrastructure Act’s requirement to specify the protected areas within which subsurface hydraulic fracturing cannot take place. Consideration of surface activity therefore is not within the scope of the regulations.

[Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

The Minister has just said something important that will be reassuring to our constituents. Given that the draft regulations deal with below-the-surface activity and not with surface activity, the assumption has been that drilling at the surface in protected areas would be allowed. Will my hon. Friend make it absolutely clear that it remains the Government’s intention not to allow drilling at the surface in protected areas, including national parks, and that a policy instrument will be put forward to enable that?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes, I can give my right hon. Friend that reassurance. The Government’s intention is to announce soon the areas in which it will not be possible for drilling to take place at the surface, and that will include all of our most valuable areas. At the moment we are defining the scope and precisely how the arrangements will work. I hope that totally reassures him and other hon. Members.

The Government recognise that some concerns have been expressed about fracking being carried out from wells drilled at the surface of some of the UK’s most valuable areas; in particular a number of groups have voiced concern about sites of special scientific interest. The national planning policy framework already makes it clear that a development should not normally be permitted if, either individually or in combination with other developments, it is likely to have an adverse effect on special interest features of an SSSI. That applies even if the development itself is outside the boundary of the SSSI.

In addition, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, consenting authorities have a duty to conserve and enhance the features of sites of special scientific interest; that duty must be incorporated in their decision making. We have considered carefully how we can protect SSSIs and are confident that the existing planning and regulatory regime already accords them strong protections.

I stress that even when the draft regulations and the surface restrictions are in place, a company looking to develop shale will always need to obtain all the necessary permissions, including planning and environmental permits, before hydraulic fracturing can be carried out.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Herbert]

Thank you, Mr Hanson.

I will just make a couple of points. First, the Opposition’s case rested on the assertion that the regulations betray the promise that was made not to allow fracking in protected areas. However, the Opposition did not say whether there is any evidence that lateral drilling at depths below 1,200 metres is damaging and therefore should not be permitted.

What is clear about the Government’s position now is that fracking in protected areas at depths of up to 1,200 metres will not be permitted by these regulations. Furthermore, the Minister gave an assurance that the Government were also committed to ensuring that fracking at the surface in protected areas would not be permitted. Therefore, the question is whether it is damaging to allow lateral drilling from outside these protected areas that will allow fracking at depths below 1,200 metres. That is 40 times the depth of the deepest underground tunnel, for instance, it is the height of Ben Nevis and it is three times deeper than the level of water sources.

What the Opposition have not said is whether they believe that such activity at such depths—lateral wells only—is damaging and should therefore be opposed. The opposition of the hon. Member for Southampton, Test seemed only to be procedural; he argued that these regulations were not entirely as had been suggested, because there was not an outright ban, and therefore they were not good enough. But he has made no case as to why fracking at these depths is damaging.

That leaves the question of SSSIs and there is a good point to be made that the definition of protected areas in these regulations does not include SSSIs. However, the vast majority of SSSIs fall within the protected areas that are covered by this legislation in any case. Only about 15% of SSSIs would fall outside this definition, and SSSIs have an existing protection under the planning system. Therefore, it behoves those who oppose the regulations and say they are inadequate to show why the existing procedures are inadequate to protect them. It is not enough to say that because the regulations do not cover them, therefore SSSIs are under threat. There is no evidence of that.

Half of my constituency is covered by the South Downs national park and my constituents can be reassured that fracking at the surface in that national park will be banned. Fracking to a depth of 1,200 metres will be banned under the regulations. Only if they are concerned about fracking at depths below 1,200 metres should they feel that I should oppose the regulations. I see no evidence that such activity will be damaging at such enormous depths and, therefore, I see no justification for the claim that national parks will be damaged by the regulations and no justification for opposing the Government on the matter.