Press Release: High Peak Borough Council passes anti-fracking motion

The revolt against fracking across Northern England continued yesterday when High Peak Borough Council passed a motion against fracking.

High Peak in Derbyshire, which borders Greater Manchester, includes part of the Peak District National Park.

The Borough Council has a Conservative majority, but three Tory councillors defied the whip to vote with Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors in favour of the motion.

The motion highlights the threat to the National Park from fracking, and also to the world famous Buxton mineral water, and calls on the council to support alternative forms of energy.

The government passed regulations before Christmas that would allow fracking under, but not in, National Parks. Campaigners have predicted that an attempt to frack under the Peak District would lead to protests similar to the 1932 Kinder Scout Mass Trespass.

Councillor Ed Kelly (Labour) said "the fact that Councillors from a range of political parties supported my motion to not support fracking in the High Peak clearly shows the high level of concern the majority of people have over fracking. The government needs to put an end to it now."

Full text of the motion

This council therefore resolves to:

Request the Leader, and the Chief Executive of the Council to formally register the
concerns of the Council regarding the use of unconventional gas exploration and extraction
within the High Peak, with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and to
inform the DECC that this Council would not currently be in a position to support this
form of development.

In addition, this council resolves to approach the Environmental Agency to lend its
support to the development of alternative sources of energy supply more suited to the High
Peak and the Peak District National Park. This council recognises that these would
generate local employment and business opportunities, and have significantly less negative
impact on the integrity of the area. As well as the consideration of large scale
alternative energy supplies consideration should be given to the production of small scale
hydro power as detailed by Friends of the Peak District.