Nicholas Asprey addresses the issues arising in claims against protesters
The growing search for shale oil and gas is supported and encouraged by the government because it believes that the exploitation of these reserves has the potential to provide the UK with greater energy security, growth and jobs. The only way to find out whether the reserves are technically and economically recoverable is by exploratory drilling. This is an expensive, long and uncertain operation and the government has been at pains to remove unnecessary legal obstacles which might discourage exploration companies from proceeding.
Thus the government has amended the planning procedures so that companies applying for planning permission for the winning and working of oil or natural gas are no longer required to serve notice on the owners of land which is to be used solely for underground drilling (The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure and Section 62A Applications) (England) (Amendment No 2) Order 2013 (SI 2013/3194). In May it issued a consultation paper on a proposal to grant automatic access rights for drilling below a depth of 300 metres. The
