The Department for Communities and Local Government has launched a new consultation on its plan to introduce draft regulations to allow local councils to retain 100% of business rates on shale oil and gas sites.
The proposal is a further move by the UK Government, which views shale oil and gas as holding significant potential for adding to the UK’s energy source,s to strengthen the case for the uptake of fracking in the UK.
In January 2014 the Prime Minister announced that local authorities will be able to keep 100% of business rates from shale gas sites (which will also include shale oil).
Announcing the consultation, Minister Kris Hopkins said:
“We also believe that local councils and communities should share in the economic opportunities and benefits of shale oil and gas. The draft regulations we are publishing today will ensure that local councils that host shale oil or gas sites can benefit from millions of pounds in business rates paid by site operators.”
The measure could be worth up to £1.7 million for a typical site and will be funded by central government.
The draft regulations define the sites on which 100% retention of business rates will apply and set out the arrangements for sharing that revenue between the different tiers of local government.
Kris Hopkins said the consultation would allow the Government to ensure it had correctly defined shale oil and gas sites and that the regulations, once made, would give local government the certainty they need over future business rates income.
Deadline for responses to the consultation is 5th December – click here to access the consultation document online. Once responses to the consultation have been considered the regulations will then belaid before Parliament with a view to them coming into force by 1 April 2015.
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