UK's Cuadrilla Hits Block in Local Shale Gas Planning

The start of shale gas production in Britain may be delayed after local government officials recommended on Wednesday that two fracking applications from Cuadrilla be rejected in a vote next week.

Cuadrilla as planning to start shale fracking work at two sites in northwest England this year, but if Councillors act upon the recommendation not to grant the permits, the projects will be delayed.

Britain is betting on the development of its shale gas reserves to help stem a decline in gas output from the North Sea and the country's growing dependence on imports.

Officials at Lancashire County Council recommended that the applications should be refused because the work related to fracking would be too noisy and create too much traffic.

"It has not been satisfactorily demonstrated that noise impacts would be reduced to acceptable levels," the officials wrote in a statement.

The Lancashire County Council's Development Control Committee will make its decisions on whether to grant Cuadrilla's planning applications on Jan. 28 and 29.

"We are surprised that, at this late point, the planning team at Lancashire County Council has raised objections about background noise for both sites," a Cuadrilla spokesman said.

Environmental groups welcomed the officials' recommendations, saying energy companies should listen to local people's concerns about the risks of fracking.

The UK Onshore Oil and Gas, an association supporting shale gas, said the officials' concerns related to local planning matters rather than issues that could impact other applications.

Reporting by Karolin Schaps