Following the government’s announcement that the ban on Fracking will be lifted, Labour councillors have stated they will do everything they can to fight any such fracking applications in Sheffield.

As part of the process of lifting the ban on fracking, the government’s Business Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg stated they are reviewing the safety regulations around ‘seismic limits’. This would mean that fracking for shale gas operations would be permitted to cause localised earthquakes.

Speaking on behalf of Labour councillors in opposing this, Mosborough Councillor Tony Downing said:

“I want to reassure residents that Sheffield Council is completely, unequivocally, opposed to Fracking.

“In 2016 Labour councillors made Sheffield the first local authority in country to ban Fracking on council owed land. We stand by this.

“We will also do everything we can to stop any applications on private land.

“It is outrageous that government are pushing ahead with this. Anyone who knows anything about shale gas extraction, recognises that it will do absolutely nothing to cut bills. Gas prices are not set by domestic supply but by international fossil fuel markets so it will do nothing to lower our energy bills or increase our energy security.

Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Co-Chair of the Transport and Climate Committee also stated:

“We need to get Sheffield to net zero by 2030 and deliver the clean growth the city needs – to provide better housing, jobs, and a more sustainable environment.

“Fracking is absolutely the wrong way to go about this, and flies in the face of everything we’re trying to do locally.

“With fracking it’s also big unknown as to whether there is even much shale gas that can be extracted. What we do know is that it’s unsafe, ineffective, and environmentally damaging. It risks causing earthquakes, polluting our water and damaging our region’s beautiful countryside.

“I will ensure our Committee does everything we can to prevent any fracking in Sheffield. Rather than dirty fossil fuels we need to be harnessing the power of renewable energy. Labour councillors are trying to do this locally, in contrast to this government’s rehash of failed ideas to solve the energy crisis”

Click here – https://youtu.be/QGM1hZkBrO4  – to see a video of Cllr Mazher Iqbal, from 2017, speaking about Sheffield Labour Cllrs action to stop Fracking on Council owned land