Press Release - Green success in Kirklees Anti Fracking Policy

Cllr Cooper on an anti fracking march in 2017

Green Councillors are celebrating after a ground breaking policy they submitted to the Local Plan has been approved by the Government's Planning Inspectorate.

Green Party Leader on Kirklees, Councillor Andrew Cooper said,

"Because the Government has a pro-fracking policy we couldn't simply ban it in the Local Plan. We had to take another approach. We added a condition that any application to Frack for gas would have to demonstrate how it has 'net zero impact on Climate Change'. We used the Government signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement and their support for the Climate Change Act as evidence to justify our proposal."

This is the first time that the link between the negative impacts on climate change has been linked to Fracking in a Local Plan anywhere in the UK.

Cllr Cooper who is also the Green Party's Energy Spokesperson said,

"The policy we have successfully proposed here has implications for every Council in the country. Now others will be able to refer to this policy in Kirklees and use it in their own areas as another way of protecting their local environment from the HGVs, earthquakes and toxic chemicals involved in the Fracking process".

"If we have learnt anything in the last few years it is that we need to extracting less fossil fuels not more. The best way to ensure we have energy security for the UK is by having more energy efficient buildings with less energy demand and more home grown renewable energy. Fracking is the past not the future."