Fracking as Permitted Development

At the last Council meeting, we discussed the issue of a national policy to allow fracking to take place under Permitted Development rules. These are rules that allow some construction to take place without the need for planning permission.

It’s supposed to be used for the kind of construction that doesn’t change much. Constructing a garden shed. Changing the roof on a porch from flat to sloped. That kind of thing.

It’s not supposed to be used to allow major construction and development to go ahead without the oversight and permission of local Councils. My friend and colleague Cllr Norman Critchley said it best when he outlined our position on this at the Council meeting:

It doesn’t matter what you views are on fracking, nobody can argue that fracking is the same as putting up a shed – it’s a ludicrous idea to even try to allow it under Permitted Development.