Planning issues in fracking

Consents for fracking

Broadly, there are four stages of shale gas development: exploration, appraisal, development and production, and decommissioning. A variety of consents are needed for each stage, including:

1. •

   licensing consents from the government (see Practice Note: Fracking—regulatory issues)

2. •

   land use permission (see Practice Note: The planning regime for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in England)

3. •

   environmental permits (see Practice Note: Fracking—environmental issues), and

4. •

   other consents from a variety of other bodies including landowners

This overview focuses on planning permission and planning policy. For the wider regulatory regime, see the Practice Notes referred to below.

Each stage of a shale gas project constitutes a mining operation...