Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to ensure that the risk of flooding is taken into account in any potential shale gas sites.

Any development (including a shale gas site) that is planned near a main river or a flood defence (including a sea defence) will require a flood defence consent from the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee in the planning process and can object to any development that they consider to be at high risk of flooding. The Environment Agency will continue to assess each site on a case by case basis and work with operators and local planning to ensure sites are protected from flood risk.