The countdown to restoration of the Preston New Road former fracking site near Blackpool is underway.

An enforcement notice, served on the site operator, Cuadrilla, came into force today (Wednesday 8 July 2026).

The company now has six months to return the site to a standard fit for agricultural use.

Cuadrilla has not responded publicly to the enforcement notice, announced by Lancashire County Council last month.

The notice was issued after the council’s planning committee refused permission for a further extension of time to complete restoration at Preston New Road.

Cuadrilla then failed to meet an approved timetable for restoration, the council said.

The council said the delay had resulted in “unacceptable and unnecessary harm to the rural character of the area”.

The local county councillor, John Singleton, said that after many months of discussions about the site with the county council’s planning manager, the “softly, softly approach” had ended.

According to the notice, Cuadrilla has four months, until 8 November 2026, to remove remaining plant, buildings, fencing, membranes and aggregates forming the drilling compound.

Replacing subsoil will be carried out over a five-month period, to the 8 December 2026.

Six months, until 8 January 2027, has been allowed to put top soil on the surface, to bring the land to a standard fit for agricultural use.

Cllr Singleton said:

“This has taken so long and lots of work by various individuals and groups to achieve this result. Thank you to all residents.”

Groundwater monitoring

Cuadrilla had argued that it needed more time to carry out groundwater monitoring, required by its environmental permit.

DrillOrDrop has discovered, through a freedom of information request, that Cuadrilla began post well abandonment monitoring of groundwater on 23 June 2025.

The company was required, by its permit, to collect monthly samples for the first three months.

The Environment Agency (EA) told us Cuadrilla had supplied data on samples collected on 23 June 2025, 22 July 2025 and 17 September 2025. The EA said it had agreed to the timings. The delay between July and September 2025 had “resulted from availability of the required equipment to collect samples”, the EA said.

After the first three months, the Preston New Road permit requires quarterly groundwater monitoring.

The EA said Cuadrilla had later supplied data from samples collected on 18 December 2025 and 20 March 2026.

The EA said:

“Monitoring should continue until the permit is varied or surrendered”.

Cuadrilla partially surrendered the permit in December 2020. But the remainder of the permit remains in force, including on groundwater monitoring.

The EA said it “would expect Cuadrilla to manage any environmental risks [from site restoration] in line with the Environmental Permit”.

It added:

“When an application is received for the surrender of the permit, the Environment Agency will make a determination as to whether Cuadrilla has provided enough evidence to surrender the permit.

“this will include a review of the information to ensure surrender requirements have been met”.