No council comfort on Ellesmere gas drilling fear

Councillors at Ellesmere Town Council, which met at the Town Hall, were questioned on their ability to support local landowners who had fallen victim of drilling for gas proposals.

The agenda included looking at proposals in Criftins, which nearby residents said posed serious environmental threats and concerns.

But councillors said more research would need to be done to determine whether these concerns were in fact viable and therefore a reason to object to the plans.

Councillor Alan Clarke, Mayor, said: "The government has given the licence to facilitate these proposals, but we need to know what has to be done to get the licence.

"They must have to go through some sort of criteria to attain licensing and we need to find out what this is."

Councillor Elspeth Edwards agreed, she said: "If we know more about this and the process to go through then we can be clear on the environmental concerns.

"We need to be clear about this."

Meanwhile, councillors said they would continue to support local organisations with funding from the council.

Councillors stressed the need to support tourism in Ellesmere, and agreed to grant £1,200 to the Tourist Information Centre at Fashelles, on Ploughman's Corner.

Councillor Ryan Hartley said: "I agree that we should support this, as tourism is key to the town.

"But if we are to grant that much money, we need to ensure the centre is open for reasonable times, as there have been complaints it has not been accessible when needed."

Councillor Alan Clarke said: "It is something that we don't want to see disappear because visitors are so important to Ellesmere."

It was decided that the money would be given and a service level agreement would be drawn up between the council and organisation.

Ellesmere District Brownies also called out to the councillors to help fund their upcoming celebrations to commemorate 100 years of the organisation.

The girls will be taking a four-day trip to a residential centre and take part in a variety of outdoor activities, crafts and games, but the trip could cost up to £90 per person.

With 31 brownies hoping to attend, the trip is a large expense for the group and so councillors voted in favour of donating £300 to the group.