Fracking plans in Rotherham dismissed by Secretary of State hailed as “great news” by councillors

Councillors have welcomed the news that a planning appeal for a test drilling site in Woodsetts has been dismissed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Danielle Andrews
By Danielle Andrews
Published 15th Jun 2022, 10:59 BST
Updated 16th Jun 2022, 10:08 BST
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The application at Dinnington Road, Woodsetts, was lodged in 2018 by INEOS Upstream.

A public inquiry was held in June 2019, after INEOS appealed to the national planning inspectorate to overturn RMBC’s decision.

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Fracking plans in Rotherham dismissed by Secretary of State
The application, for the construction of a well site to "drill and pressure transient test a vertical hydrocarbon exploratory core" at Dinnington Road, Woodsetts, was lodged in 2018 by INEOS Upstream.The application, for the construction of a well site to "drill and pressure transient test a vertical hydrocarbon exploratory core" at Dinnington Road, Woodsetts, was lodged in 2018 by INEOS Upstream.
The application, for the construction of a well site to "drill and pressure transient test a vertical hydrocarbon exploratory core" at Dinnington Road, Woodsetts, was lodged in 2018 by INEOS Upstream.
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The Government’s inspector recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions – but Secretary of State Michael Gove “decided to dismiss the appeal and refuse planning permission”.

The decision, made by Housing Minister Stuart Andrew on behalf of Mr Gove, was welcomed by all three RMBC councillors who represent the Anston & Woodsetts ward.

Councillor Tim Baum-Dixon, Conservative councillor for the ward, said: “This is great news for Woodsetts and the rest of the Anston and Woodsetts ward and we are fully supportive of this decision.

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“My Conservative colleague Tracey Wilson and I have been opposed to fracking in the area.

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“This has been a worry to many Woodsetts residents and through the hard work of groups such as Woodsetts Against Fracking and our MP Alexander Stafford we hope this decision marks the end of the matter.”

Councillor Drew Tarmey, Liberal Democrat councillor for Anston & Woodsetts, added: “I have always been firmly opposed to fracking in Woodetts and local residents have quite rightly been concerned about ambiguities in govermnent’s position on fracking in recent years.

“This decision represents the culmination of a lot of hard work and campaigning to ensure that Woodsetts remains free from the threat of fracking in the future.”

Related topics:CouncillorsMichael GoveRotherhamHousing