19 May 2017
The Conservative Manifesto reads: "Non-fracking drilling will be treated as permitted development" and "major shale planning decisions will be made the responsibility of the National Planning Regime" (p23)
'Non-fracking' well sites like Crawberry Hill near Beverley, that require tall rigs 24 hour drilling, large amounts of equipment and tanks, and hundreds of HGVs will no longer require planning permission, as if their impact is less than your neighbour's extension, and similar to the impact of a wall. For fracking to be viable, thousands of wells would be required across East Yorkshire.
Richard Howarth says,
"This means a well pad, with massive drilling rig, 24 hour drilling, and convoys of HGVs will require less planning permission than your neighbour's extension - on a par with a small wall.
The government said it supports localism, but this exposes another whopping lie by a government in the pocket of big business. No snap election, but here we are. No NHS privatisation, but patients are being asked to contact Virgin Healthcare. Local communities will have their say - but now there will be no consultation on drilling rigs, and fracking decisions will be overruled by central government.
"I say, the emperor has no clothes: exploring for more fossil fuels is a crime against humanity. We should be protesting against this as if life on earth as we know it depends on it.
"Renewables will provide real energy security, but fracking will drown us. And for what? A few million quid for their oil company cronies."
Richard Howarth is the Parliamentary Candidate for Beverley & Holderness and will appear on the ballot paper as 'Green Party Stop Fracking Now'.
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