THE BIG PICTURE

There are significant amounts of shale rock in the UK; a major band is in the north Peak District, with deeper deposits to the west through Lancashire, and east into Yorkshire (including the Dales National Park) and Lincolnshire.  There is a further significant area running from north of London into parts of Hampshire, West and East Sussex, and Kent.  No one knows (without exploratory drilling) whether these deposits contain commercial quantities of extractable shale gas.  The problem with extraction methods (aside from the numerous environmental and other concerns) is that each well can only extract gas within a 2 mile radius of the drilling site, meaning that if the UK goes ahead with developing this industry, expect to see thousands upon thousands of well heads across some of the most beautiful parts of the country.  We need to stop this – not just for the sake of Dudleston, but to prevent the whole countryside being devastated.

Licences for Unconventional Gas (UG) extraction are called PEDL licences and are awarded in rounds.  The latest round offered up enough licences to cover two thirds of the UK although typically the number of licences actually awarded is slightly lower than the number being offered.  The results will be announced by the government soon.

To find out if you will soon be eligible for gas wells in your area, Friends of the Earth have created this very easy to use website map.

If you put a tick in the Orange box you can see the latest round and then typing in your postcode will zoom in to your location.

If the idea of your area having gas wells scattered across it is unappealing them please do join our campaign.