Shropshire border village fears fracking chaos in area
"Not in our back yard" – that is the message from villagers on the Shropshire border amid fears their area could soon be considered for fracking.
People in Audlem, near Market Drayton, said the proposals could cause "chaos" in the village. They said the area was not suitable for such proposals, although many said they did appreciate the need for the country to find alternative forms of energy.
The area around the village is being considered as part of a prospective area where shale gas could be found using the fracking method.
It is one of 132 areas set to be awarded licences for oil and gas exploration subject to further environmental assessment and conditions to protect wildlife and habitats.
It comes as new licences were this week awarded to companies by the Government to explore for oil and gas in 27 areas including near Nottingham, Sheffield, Lincoln and Preston.
No other parts of the Shropshire area are likely to be affected by the latest round of licensing. It comes after proposals to drill for coal bed methane at Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere, were dropped earlier this summer amid huge public opposition.
Rodney Cottrell, who lives in Audlem, said: "It is necessary from a national point of view for energy, but like most people we wouldn't want it in our back yard.
"They would need to consider the implications of it.
"The biggest problem is outside the main streets of Audlem the size of our lanes are pathetically narrow. From a transport view it would be chaos."
Fellow resident Billy Gibbons said: "I haven't done much research about it because I didn't think it would get as close to home as this could do.
"If it's in my back yard it would concern me."
Geoff Seddon of Audlem Parish Council said the council would be trying to find out more information over the next 48 hours.
The highly controversial method of fracking involves using high pressure jets of water to extract shale gas from underground.
Andy Samuel, chief executive of Oil and Gas Authority, said there had been "significant interest" nationally from oil and gas companies to explore underground for shale gas.
But Andrew Pendleton, Friends Of The Earth head of campaigns, said: "Wherever fracking has been proposed, it has been opposed.
"The Government's own report into the rural economy impacts of fracking highlights a myriad of concerns."
