1,000 signatures reached
To: Each Staffordshire Planning Authority
Keep your fracking hands off Cannock Chase
Categorically rule out any fracking, including exploratory drilling and commit to keeping Staffordshire Frack-free
Why is this important?
On 16th December MPs backed fracking under National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) such as Cannock Chase.
We call upon the local authorities whom make decisions on planning applications throughout the County:- Cannock Chase District Council, Lichfield District Council, South Staffordshire Borough Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council to categorically rule out any fracking (including exploratory drilling) anywhere in the County.
Staffordshire County Council is in the final stages of approving a fifteen year local minerals plan through to 2030 which includes specific reference to hydrocarbon extraction including shale gas and coal bed methane both of which can be extracted using the technique of hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Cannock Chase and the surrounding areas are know to contain Coal Bed Methane although no surveying has been undertaken for Shale Gas at this time. This document can be found on the Staffordshire County Council website.
Less than a week following an international agreement to address the impact of climate change in Paris with a commitment to limit global temperature increase to less than 1.5 degrees centigrade all 8 conservative Staffordshire MPs voted to allow fracking in these protected areas. To address the catastrophic effect of climate change we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and not experiment with unproven and unsafe technologies putting our environment and drinking water at risk.
This legislation affects Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty like Cannock Chase, National Parks including the Peak District as well as our groundwater protection zones
