According to the report, shale gas company Cuadrilla should not be permitted to develop the Preston New Road site in northwestern England because noise would “unnecessarily and unacceptably” affect local residents. Another development plan, of the Roseacre Wood site, was recommended to be rejected because it would cause of an increase in road traffic.
The council’s development control committee will make a decision for the two sites next week, after consideration of planning authority recommendations.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a technique for the extraction of shale gas through the high-pressure injection of a toxic fluid mixture deep underground. Fracking fluid contains water mixed with sand and several carcinogenic chemicals including uranium, radium, methanol, mercury and lead. As a result of the fracking process, these toxic materials have been proven to leak into and contaminate groundwater.
