Two High Court challenges against the government’s decision to give fracking the go-ahead in Lancashire have failed. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid approved plans for shale gas extraction at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in October 2016. The Preston New Road Action Group (PNRAG) said the decision was “flawed”, while Gayzer Frackman claimed it did not consider climate change. But Mr Justice Dove dismissed their judicial review actions. The decision means that, for the first time in the UK, shale rock will be drilled into horizontally, a process which is expected to yield more gas. The campaigners had urged the London High Court judge to find that the decision to grant a planning application for the site in Fylde was neither fair nor lawful.
BBC 12th April 2017 read more »