In a statement issued this afternoon, Cuadrilla responded to the refusal by Lancashire County Council of its plans for Grange Hill site at Singleton.

The company said:

We are perplexed and disappointed by the decision of Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee (DCC)  to refuse our planning application for Grange Hill.  The refusal was contrary to the advice of Lancashire County Council planning officers, the HSE and the EA all of whom recommended it for approval.  It is not clear what the technical basis of the Council’s decision was.  As a consequence,  the Grange Hill well appears to be in planning limbo since permission to plug the well and restore the site has been refused. We are awaiting clarification from the Council before deciding on next steps.

This application was to use the existing well at Grange Hill to carry out seismic and pressure monitoring  after which the well was to have been plugged with cement and the site restored to greenfield status.   The application did not entail any drilling or hydraulic fracturing operations.”

Our report on refusal of plans