Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site. Photo: Frack Free Creators Knitting Nanas of Lancashire
Cuadrilla released figures today which showed it spent £650,000 with suppliers based in Lancashire in the four months to the end of March 2017. The company said this was more than it spent with suppliers in the preceding 11 months.
According to the figures, Cuadrilla’s contractors spent £165,000 with Lancashire sub-contractors on shale-related work in the same four months. This is slightly up on the £164,000 they spent in the period January-November 2016.
But the latest figures in the company’s “Commitments Tracker” show that during the period 1 December 2016-31 March 2017, Cuadrilla created no new fulltime jobs, apprentices or internships, despite starting work at its Preston New Road site. Only five contract or temporary jobs were created as a result of Cuadrilla’s operations in the same four months.
Cuadrilla’s “Commitment Tracker” for 1 January 2016-31 March 2017
The figures, which Cuadrilla said had been independently audited, also showed that the company donated £1,500 to causes in Lancashire in the four months from December 2016-March 2017 but spent £56,000 on sponsorship in the county.
Cuadrilla’s Commitment Tracker for 1 January 2016-30 November 2016
Registrations of Lancashire-based businesses with the county’s Chamber of Commerce supply chain portal appear to have fallen, according to the figures. The period ending November 2016 recorded a total of 715. But the latest figure for the period January 2016-March 2017 was 432. Cuadrilla explained that the supply chain portal was re-launched in January 2017 and companies were asked to re-register. A spokesperson said the 432 registrations in the latest figures are for the two months from the end of January 2017.
In a statement, Francis Egan, Cuadrilla’s chief executive, said:
“These latest figures clearly demonstrate that with works beginning at our Preston New Road exploration site Lancashire has significantly benefited from shale gas right from the start. We are proud to continue to put Lancashire first in terms of how we do business and as a responsible member of the local community. The tracker demonstrates how we are making our commitments to the county a reality.”
Categories: Industry
DRILL OR DROP? 
How much lost business did the anti-frackers cause for local businesses I wonder? pity that Ruth withholds that information!
Dear Rex. Are you aware of any figures which identify any difference to local businesses as a result of protests? I’ve not come across any but if you would like to send me the information I’d be very happy to look at it. Best wishes, Ruth
Ruth, are you suggesting there was no loss of revenue to local firms as a direct action of the anti protestors? Or, are you genuinely asking for us to provide you with figures? And on the basis that we obtain these will you post them?
Dear GottaBKidding I repeat my reply to Rex. If there are figures which identify any different to local businesses as a result of the protests I will look at them. I will want to know how they have been obtained, who provided them and how they have been audited.
The preparation work being done at PNR is hardly likely to create apprentices, internships or permanent jobs, and even the drilling phase will have limited impact in this respect. THIS IS AN EXPLORATION SITE! Longer term employment will come from PRODUCTION.
Every development of such resource around the world has shown this. Why try and make out PNR should be any different?
What are they bragging about? Just an empty field of dirty. The punker gas disappeared and nothing to show for after 5 months and dont know what is the fuss about. Hard to imagine this is industrialization or economic miracles.
Interesting to see that their supply chain initiative appears to be floundering and going into reverse – I wonder who the 283 companies who have de-registered are.
Most of the hauliers seem to be out of area, and of course the main sub-contractor AE Yates is not from Lancashire but from Greater Manchester. How much they have spent with AE Yates compared to local suppliers?
Hello Refracktion. Thanks for your comment. I’ve just updated the piece to reflect a response from Cuadrilla on the supply chain portal. The company said the portal was relaunched in January 2017 so contractors were asked to re-register. According to Cuadrilla, the number in the most recent figures reflects registrations from the end of January 2017
Thanks Ruth – how jolly strange! A search for “Cuadrilla relaunch supplier portal” on Google returns nothing.
The fact remains that at the end of November they were claiming to have 715 local businesses interested but now (4 months after this “relaunch”) 40% of them seem not to want to be involved.
Did Cuadrilla suggest why that might be?
Nope.
Funny that
Concerned that in the photo you can see what look like a couple of ponds that animals might drink from. Farmer be warned.
They are marl pits I think – they are all over the Fylde