Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road shale gas sie, 27 September 2017. Photo: DrillOrDrop
People living within 1.5km of Cuadrilla’s shale gas site in Lancashire are to share a £100,000 community benefit fund, the company confirmed today.
The decision follows a public consultation with people living locally.
Cuadrilla said 79% of consultation participants from the parish of Westby with Plumptons wanted the money from the site’s second exploration well to go directly to households nearby.
But only 250 of the 741 eligible households (34%) participated in the consultation. And at least one resident said he wouldn’t take the money.
29 households within 1km of the centre of the site will qualify for £2,070. Another 259 households within 1-1.5km qualify £150. They must apply for the money within 30 days of a letter dated 30 October 2017.
John Tootiill, whose nursery is within 1km of the Preston New Road site, has supported opposition to Cuadrilla’s operation. He told The Guardian he didn’t want the money:
“It is absolutely the most appalling thing. How can you give money to compensate for affecting people’s health and spoiling their environment?
“What we want is our health. It’s just blood money really, because no amount of money can compensate for somebody’s health being affected. You can’t buy health. Most certainly I wouldn’t take it.”
The Green Party MEP, Keith Taylor, said in a statement today:
“These proposals are immoral and tantamount to bribery. Britain and the world is on course to miss climate targets. Kickbacks won’t keep catastrophic climate change at bay.
“Residents in Lancashire will not be swayed by a naked attempt to use bribery to divide and conquer communities. It is time for the Government to stop circumventing democracy and, finally, listen to the public.”
A £100,000 sum for the first well at Preston New Road has been paid into an independently-managed fund. Cuadrilla said a community panel would make decisions on how this money would be distributed. The panel is likely to be appointed by the end of the year and the first payments made in early Spring 2018. Money not claimed by residents for the second well would go into this fund, Cuadrilla said.
A consultation on the priorities for the fund suggested that people wanted money to go to local environmental issues (24%), health living (19%) and safety (14%).
Asked how the local community could be supported, 24% of participants said it should be through resident-led projects, while 18% said through existing community activities and services.
Categories: Industry
DRILL OR DROP? 
Martin Norway has earthquakes, higher suicide rates and we’re not comparing similar operators. I’m impressed the oil companies have contributed to the purchase of bottled water, or higher insurance premiums local residents will be paying, or possibly contributed to private healthcare payments, to enable them to jump the queue as the NHS is cut to bits by this short sighted energy policy from our Government
In the US, the land owners fight for the right to have fracking in their neighborhood. They are especially displeased when the rich urbanites in Philly and NYC try to impose their moralistic Green agenda, and deprive these rural dwellers of much-needed cash. Those who live near the fracking sites understand that it isn’t going to impact their air or water (okay, it will make their air a bit cleaner, but that’s not a driving factor) but it will bring money, jobs, and inexpensive energy.
I wonder how an anti-fracker would explain the fact that people who propose to live right next to fracking sites are fighting to host the industry operations here in the US where we have so much personal experience with fracking? As Mr. Tootill has expressed, no one is going to take industry money if they believe doing so will put their family’s health at risk.
Refricktion…Clever of you to leave out the fact that many land owners in the States can get a 15% royalty rate from the Gas companies returns on gas from their patch of land because they own the mineral rights there (unlike here). This really does suit those with bigger acreages – they can get rich and retire early. Misery though for those with smaller patches though, which includes most people. There’s an interesting read here (pro-gas btw) with those details amongst the info on decline curves… N.B. don’t forget to read the coments: http://naturalgasnow.org/shale-gas-decline-curves-demystified/
Paula
The only thing Fracking WILL RAISE, is “huge” debts that will be dumped on to the taxpayer.
As anyone living on planet earth can see, with the record number of Shale Gas bankruptcies in the US .. Even with their joke like regulations which are woefully, inadequately enforced and it being an almost free for all for the fracking companies. THEY STILL CAN’T MAKE IT PAY.
It doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to work out how it will go in the UK .
As usual, Jack, a whole lot of hot air. We’ve been fracking for 65 years in the US and millions have wells have been fracked. Can you please cite a single example where “huge” debts were dumped on the taxpayer? Please allow me to answer this for you. No, you cannot.
Do you have record of a single “shale bankruptcy” Jack? I don’t even know what that means. How does a piece of rock go bankrupt, exactly?
Companies which have used fracking have obviously been enormously successful financially. Massive amounts of wealth have been created. Of course not all of the benefits have accrued to financial sponsors. The public has benefited from dramatically lower energy costs and cleaner air as well as more jobs and a stronger economy.
You should really study this whole fracking business before sounding off like that Refricktion. Fracking 65 years ago bears little resemblance to modern techniques using long laterals and high volume, very high pressure slick-water practices which have become commercially driven only in the last couple of decades. Even so the earliest warnings about fracking came with the dangers of groundwater contamination. The same is true today, and there are different risks as well
Philip P, there is actually quite a bit of resemblance between early fracking and today’s variety. The concept is identical. Yet the techniques and scale of operations have increased significantly since the early days. You are correct that risks of contamination have been present from the beginning. I would say that the risks per produced mcf have declined over time because more gas is accessed from fewer well pads, and because better safety precautions are taken into account in operations.
Refricktion,
When companies go bankrupt owing £ billions, what do you think happens to some of that bad debt . Does it go to the Moon , The Wizard of OZ or maybe Fairies sprinkle dust over it and it magically dissapears ???
Please allow me to explain , when a company goes bust owing £ billions, a lot of that bad debt lands on the shoulders of investors and banks….. When these bad debts mount up and threaten to overwhelm the banking system . The banks then go Cap In Hand to the governnent for BAIL OUTS.
Where does government money come from ???? = The Taxpaying Public.
On the third rock from the Sun, there have been a TSUNAMI of bankruptcies in the Shale/Oil and Gas industry….. For the benefit of clarity Refricktion, we are talking about bankruptcies on mother earth, aren’t we ???
These bankruptcies amount to Hundreds and Hundreds of £ billions….. THATS A LOT OF BAD DEBT
3 More Energy Industry Bankruptcy Filings in January 2017
https://www.creditriskmonitor.com/blog/3-more-energy-industry-bankruptcy-filings-january-2017
Hundreds of Oil Stocks Could Go to Zero…Will You Still Be Owning One of Them?
https://www.caseyresearch.com/hundreds-of-oil-stocks-could-go-to-zero-will-you-still-be-owning-one-of-the/
US fracking: Drilling stalls as firms head for bankruptcy
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/02/08/us-fracking-is-having-troubles/
The Real Reason Oil & Gas Companies are Going Bankrupt: Financing Fracking Projects Became a Ponzi Scheme
https://wolfstreet.com/2016/09/26/the-real-reason-oil-gas-companies-are-going-bankrupt-financing-fracking-projects-has-become-a-ponzi-scheme
Refricktion,
ARE THESE SOME OF THE GREAT BENEFITS ???
So BIG has the problem been with Shale / oil & gas companies either going bankrupt or just walking away from their moral, environmental obligations that in 2014 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection who had identified 8,371 orphaned wells. I quote, ” only had the the resources to plug 48 of them.”
8,371 Wells is just the VERY TIP of the iceberg. It is reckoned that there could be close to 200,000 unaccounted for .
In your above post Refricktion, you talk about , I quote, . ” The public has benefited from dramatically lower energy costs and cleaner air as well as more jobs and a stronger economy. ” I do NOT see much benefit in an EXPENSIVE TOXIC LEGACY, do you ??
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/02/08/us-fracking-is-having-troubles/
https://www.hh-law.com/abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-more-than-just-a-rusty-eyesore/
Jackthelad, The wells from that study are almost all conventional wells that date back to the 1800s. That has nothing to do with fracking. There’s no EXPENSIVE TOXIC LEGACY having to do with fracking. The legacy is cleaner air, cheaper energy, and more wealth. Thanks!
Jackthelad,
And I will ask you once again to slow down the hype machine and provide ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE where an energy company required a bailout from the government OR where energy company bankruptcies due to fracking caused banks to be bailed out by the federal government. You have stated that “huge” debts have been piled onto the taxpayer, so providing ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE should be a very easy process for you.
The oil and gas industry is massive, Jackthelad. And massive, capital intensive industries will have a number of bankruptcies each year. It’s part of what keeps the industry healthy as it culls the weak from the herd. This was true long before fracking became dominant. Look at the steel industry and the mining industry and you will see the same. They all go through periods of time of overinvestment and then serious financial hardship.
Do a little more homework, Jack. And don’t buy the hype that you seem to be so drawn to read. Bad debt doesn’t go to any fairies or outer space, Jack, it’s eaten by investors. This isn’t very complicated, my man.
Refricktion,
I have cut and pasted a small section from one of my above posts. If you are having difficulty understanding what is said , please come back again and I will try and make it more simple to understand.
” Please allow me to explain , when a company goes bust owing £ billions, a lot of that bad debt lands on the shoulders of investors and banks….. When these bad debts mount up and threaten to overwhelm the banking system . The banks then go Cap In Hand to the governnent for BAILOUTS.”
” Where does government money come from ???? = The Taxpaying Public.”
As far as bankruptcies go , even on far of planets in other galaxies , the alien inhabitants can’t fail to see the TSUNAMI of Shale/Oil and Gas companies going bust with HUGE DEBTS on mother Earth.
Some of these bankrupt companies also leave MASSIVE clean up costs and ONGOING monitoring/maintenance costs of the abandoned wells….. Who do you think picks up the tab for that ?????
( It’s certainly not the fairies )
The TOXIC LEGACY is clearly highlighted and explained in my above links , MORE links can be supplied if you require further convincing.
Can you please read and see the above links. ALL the evidence to support what I have said is there .
Refricktion ……. I know you are posting from the USA, so you can be forgiven for not properly understanding the people, government, or economics of the UK.
Regarding Fracking you say, quote, “The legacy is Cleaner Air, Cheaper Energy, and More Wealth. ”
Cleaner Air …….. Wrong
http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/hydraulic-fracturing.html?referrer=http://www.psr.org/?referrer=https://www.google.com/?referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
Do you require more evidence ??? Many, MANY more articles can be supplied upon request….
Cheaper Energy ………. Wrong….. Considering the cost of Oil and Gas has been at a record Low price for many years …. Here in the UK we have still been paying HIGH prices, Thats because of the eye watering tax we have on fuel .
Also , have a read as to what Lord Browne, you know Lord Browne the guy who was chairman of Cuadrilla has to say. He doesn’t think prices for consumers will come down.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/29/browne-fracking-not-reduce-uk-gas-prices-shale-energy-bills
More Wealth …….. Wrong ….. £150 yes £150 for the vast majority of residents……They’ve really hit the BIG TIME with this one . Crack open the cheap bottle of champagne, pnly one bottle though, as it’s all they’ll be able to afford.
It is said that Cuadrilla has created 18 permanent jobs ……… How many of them, are low paid security guard jobs 10, 12 , 14 , 16 ???? It’s hardly BOOM TIME for the area.
So if only 250 of the 741 eligible households (34%) participated in the consultation. And at least one resident said he wouldn’t take the money.
and
’29 households within 1km of the centre of the site will qualify for £2,070 and another 259 households within 1-1.5km qualify £150′
so,
is this another of those Cuadrilla maths problems where the numbers don’t add up cos in my book 29 + 259 = 288. So if 250 participated, less one who refused a payout of blood money this equals 249 households eligible for the payout?
and
29 x £2070 = £60,030
259 x £150 = £38,850
Total = £98, 880 not £100,000
Curiouser and curiouser! said Alice…
Well done John Toohill. Your share will be given to others who deserve it more.
Just like fossil fuel. If you don’t want it then just go away and dont use it. But just stop the whining and whinging.
What nonsense TW, it is the residents who live there, not Cuadrilla they are the invader, they should “go away” and take their cheap bribes with them.
We will very happily be fossil fuel free, as soon as ever this government gets their act together and introduces policy and strategy that will help deliver the change to a carbon zero economy. Surveys have shown the public want and like renewable energy but we have a government that is fixated with fracking. Green technologies are advancing and the costs are falling. It is inevitable that we will stop using cars powered by fossil fuels, that buildings will not heated by fossil fuels and a carbon zero economy will come. But how quickly we achieve this is significantly influenced by government policy. A change of government we get there quicker. Car manufacturers are already stating the combustion engine will be gone by 2030, if not before.
Nice words KatT. Lest start with you and Phil C first.
From an industry that has imposed its black polluting agenda, that is sick.
Americans are so dumbed down they don’t know what is being done to them.
This is just the effects of fluoride, no doubt the same or worse effects will emerge from the contamination of fracking chemicals declared and undeclared in water air and land.
That is a future DDT and PCB similarly poisonous environmental legacy of fracking waiting to happen
It would be enlightening to know what long term health effects this list of chemicals will have on IQ and cognitive capacity in USA, Canada, Australia, Europe and here in UK?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_for_hydraulic_fracturing#United_Kingdom
Have any scientific tests been done on toxicity related to IQ for these chemicals, the declared and undeclared toxic chemicals that will be allowed to be put in our land without notification or consultation.
The dumbing down effects of fluoride in water was known about by the nazis in the concentration camps, that was 75 years ago and we are still putting fluoride of unknown sources and components, there are hundreds of fluoride combinations, in water to “protect teeth” which is a complete lie. There is only one reason for putting fluoride in water and that is dumbing down and pacification.
How many of the fracking toxins have a similar or worse effect?
We do not know, but if USA intelligence is anything to go by, it will not be long before we see that here.
Now do you see what is being done to you?
In case you wondered us Brits don’t fare much better, but we also have fluoride in the water here too and soon we will be as dumb as the yanks if fracking gets its here.
I hope TW you never have to ‘whine and whinge’ about something that has destroyed your life, just saying.
UK has earhquakes too Paula. “Big” one recently in the Highlands-but that must have been Jim (Ineos) testing his seismic equipment! Except, he may have been away at the time reviewing his operations in Norway-“not comparing similar operators”??
NHS is FUNDED by taxation Paula. If you want to pay more in tax to account for industry being restricted in their ability to pay tax, you can easily make extra donations, but don’t expect others to have that imposed upon them by your wishes.
As Giggle seems to think that sexual activity is increased near fracking sites, I trust the recipients of this extra disposable income enjoy it responsibly.
Did the earth move for you darling?
No it was Cuadrilla, they think they have paid for more than prospective patella probes.
How many drill rig toys do they need?
No wonder they want to generate their own electricity? They must run out of batteries all the time?
Peanuts, how insulting, are people so easily bribed?
L.M. -suggest you refer to the proposed scheme in total, rather than this individual payment. And, the proposed scheme is likely to be built upon, if, and when, production is underway. Wonder if any recipients will buy some AJL shares?
If someone refuses payment at this stage, do they forfeit future payments? That one could create more family disputes than how to vote in an EU referendum!
Happiness levels in UK at highest since recording started in 2011, and the recent increase largely been driven by England! Seems people are generally pretty content, especially with their economic position. Could someone please tell Jeremy Corbyn.
All the negative media drivel seems to be largely ignored. Not too sure general scaremongering will work well going forward, especially when the cheques accelerate.
The residents in favour of this scheme should check out how much people in the US are paid for letting fracking firms operate in their backyards. The payments have literally created millionaires out of farmers nearly overnight. This at least gives them the option to move on and live somewhere else, where their health will not be endangered. What are you going to do with a measly £2k??? This really is a joke.
liuseniuk-it is quite easy to examine the payments in full, rather than this relatively small fraction of the (current) whole offer. I posted shortly before you indicating this, but you seem to want to change the facts for your own motives. I’m not sure continuing the previous strategy of altering factual information is going to produce a positive response when the information is out there in the public domain for anyone to check. Fake news may be all the rage but when it is obvious it causes more damage than benefit to the producer. (Just like Donald carp feeding!)
Good to see that the wind industry, being tax-payer subsidised, can afford to pay much bigger “bribes”:
https://www.juicebrighton.com/news/brighton-news/rampion-wind-farm-announces-4-m-cash-for-sussex-community/
Not sure what you’re talking about Martin Collyer. My comment is on the information in the article, which I’m sure was verified. DrillOrDrop doesn’t put out any rubbish out there. I’m not commenting on yours or anyone else’s comments.
AL; It’s a shame that S Javid sold the Green Investment Bank (25% stakeholder of Rampion) in August, otherwise the profits may have offset the subsidies.
Still better 4 million for a change in view 13 km off the coast, powering 283444 homes and reducing nearly 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, than industrialization of the countryside, 50+ seismic events and well leaks and increased CO2 emissions missing climate change targets!
Makes Cuadrilla’s £100,000 bribe an insult to the communities.