Nottinghamshire approves application to explore for shale gas

Nottinghamshire County Council has approved Dart Energy's planning application to drill an exploratory for shale gas well on land off the A634 between Barnby Moor and Blyth. 

The site is around 1.5km north-west of Barnby Moor and 3km south-east of Blyth and is currently open farm land. Exploratory drilling is the first step toward hydraulic fracturing, know as 'fracking', although the site does not have permission to frack as yet.

Fracking in the area is strongly opposed by a number of local community environmental groups, including Frack Free Nottinghamshire who said on their website, of the decision: 'Frack Free Nottinghamshire are beyond disappointed by the decision of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Planning Committee to approve the application by Dart Energy for exploratory drilling at the Tinker Lane site in Bassetlaw. This is the second approval in Bassetlaw, forming the start of an industrial gas field. This approval is despite overwhelming local opposition to the application, with 99.5% of those consulted by Nottinghamshire County Council being opposed to the application.'