Cuadrilla Resources has written to the Chair of Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee asking for its planning applications for shale gas exploration at two proposed sites to be deferred pending further public consultation.

The Committee is due to discuss the planning applications for shale gas exploration at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood at a meeting on Wednesday. Last week the Council’s Planning Officers recommended that the DCC should refuse both applications.

Cuadrilla has written separately to the Chair of the Committee outlining additional information regarding further mitigation measures on noise and traffic concerns.  The shale and gas company said that “the detail of this additional mitigation requires proper consultation and planning regulations clearly require this.” 

In a separate statement, Cuadrilla said:

“We and our expert advisers believe these mitigations address all issues which have recently been raised by the Planning Officers and should be more widely discussed before the DCC determines the planning applications.”

According to  Cuadrilla, the Planning Officer’s recommendation to refuse planning permission for the Preston New Road exploration site was on the single ground of night-time noise levels at the nearest residential properties. For Roseacre Wood the Officer recommended refusal on two grounds (i) noise and (ii) traffic.  The company also cited the sole reason given by Planning Officers for their negative recommendation on the application at Preston New Road was ‘it has not been satisfactorily demonstrated that night-time noise levels would be reduced to acceptable levels’.

Cuadrilla said it had committed in its  planning applications to achieving a night time noise limit of 42dB at the nearest residential property – however during six months of consultation the Planning Officers never advised this would not be an acceptable limit. 

42dB is the limit that Lancashire – and other County Councils – have previously typically set for night-time onshore drilling operations.  Cuadrilla has now committed to the additional noise mitigation measures of a further sound barrier around the major parts of the drilling rig along with other measures such as additional shielding around individual components of the drilling rig. The company believe the additional measures will reduce the night-time noise levels at the nearest residential property to no higher than 39 dB (less than the sound of a refrigerator humming from 2m).

Commenting on the potential issue of night-time noise at the Roseacre Wood site, Cuadrilla said:

“Whilst we believe that our commitment to achieving a night time limit of no greater than 40dB at the nearest residential property fully complies with National Planning Policy Framework, we have proposed additional noise mitigation measures that will now reduce the levels to no greater than 37dB.”

The gas exploration company also set out additional measures to address traffic concerns of  communities local to the Roseacre Wood site.