Almost 500 in bid to to halt test drilling for gas in Shropshire

The opposition to drilling a temporary coal-bed methane (CBM) exploration borehole near Ellesmere has been made in comments on a planning application on Shropshire Council's website.

Residents, who are concerned about the impact the scheme on land north west of The Brooklands in Dudleston will have on their homes, have objected forcefully.

Campaigners also fear the exploratory drilling could open the door for fracking for shale gas in the area in future years - despite officials behind the plans insisting the land would be returned to its former condition once drilling is complete.

Chris Hesketh, spokesman for the Frack Free Dudleston campaign group, said: "There are currently 468 objections on the site and an analysis of the names shows that there are relatively few people in the area that haven't objected.

"This is the strongest message possible that the test drill is not wanted in this area and for completely valid reasons."

Mr Hesketh has warned large parts of Shropshire could be under threat from gas drilling in the future.

"The UK Government has issued the latest round of Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDL), which means that half of Britain is now available for gas companies to put in their applications to drill," he said.

"This includes most of Shropshire, including Shrewsbury. It is not a matter anymore just for Dudleston or the other sites earmarked already in north Shropshire.

"The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) report on coal-bed methane concludes that Shropshire is not geologically suitable for extraction.

"Trying to extract in an area that is not suitable would come with a very high risk of underground contamination, therefore the sensible approach would be to require that the geological data be checked first."

Mr Hesketh added: "Frack Free Dudleston will continue to lobby against the application.

"West Sussex Council refused permission at Wisborough Green and we have even stronger planning arguments than they did."

A decision is not expected on the Dudleston application until mid September.

The scheme for Dudleston has been put forward by Dart Energy.

The firm denies it has any plans at the moment to explore for shale gas in the county even though north Shropshire sits on both coal and shale. Representatives of the company say it is currently interested in coal-bed methane only.

Peter Reilly, a spokesman for Dart Energy, said that once the 60-day period is up the site will be restored to its former condition.