Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what protections the Government has put in place to ensure that historic towns are not adversely affected by shale gas extraction.

The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound, maintaining the very highest safety and environmental standards.

Any impacts of shale gas exploration proposals on the historic environment are fully taken into account through the planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework explains that when considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. Designated heritage assets include World Heritage Sites, scheduled monuments, listed buildings and conservation areas.

In addition, the Government has consulted on measures to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of our most valuable areas, including World Heritage Sites, and we will publish our response to the consultation shortly.