Appeal over Shropshire gas drilling plans will not be held in public

The Government's Planning Inspectorate has said the application to drill a single coal-bed methane exploratory borehole in Dudleston, near Ellesmere, will be handled by written representations instead of a public inquiry.

A spokesman for the Planning Inspectorate said: "The appeal has been validated. The start date was yesterday – target dates for various stages of the process are listed on the case page, but no decision date has yet been set."

Applicant Dart Energy is now due to hear directly from Government planning inspectors whether its plans have been approved after it took the scheme to appeal.

The company lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate last month on the grounds of non-determination by Shropshire Council.

The authority's north planning committee had previously indicated it was minded to refuse the plans at its meeting in October, leading to the council to ask Dart Energy to provide more information about the scheme. But Dart Energy has maintained its belief that it has provided enough information for a final decision to be made.

Chris Hesketh, member of campaign group Frack Free Dudleston which is opposed to the scheme, said he believes they can still win and hopes the written process will lead to quicker result.

He said: "The process will be the written one which typically leads to quicker results. Frack Free Dudleston will be working with the council to ensure that the best possible submission is made. The council will have to move quickly because the appeal deadlines are tight.

"There were some very significant inaccuracies in the original application which led to inaccuracies in the planning assessment. Aside from our opposition to the reckless deployment of this technology, there are site specific reasons why this application should be rejected.

"Scotland has declared a moratorium on unconventional gas and now Wales is looking to do the same.

"There are very strong and legitimate reasons for people being concerned.

"The Government has published its latest public attitudes analysis. When asked what forms of energy generation people would be happy to see within two miles of their home, most people would be happy with solar or wind.

"These options don't damage people's health or the environment.

"Only a tiny number of people would be happy with fracking and three quarters would be very unhappy about living near it. The Westminster Government seems determined to overrule the public and are spending lots of our money trying to force this through.

"Overall we remain united against this threat to Dudleston because it makes no sense locally and we believe that it brings no real benefit nationally."

Dart Energy has insisted any work carried out would be on a small scale and would be carried out safely.