SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor MSP has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that fracking will be banned.
North Lanarkshire was one of the local authority areas identified as potentially having significant shale oil and gas reserves or coal bed methane, particularly the area of Moodiesburn in my constituency.
The Scottish Government previously announced a moratorium while it ran a public consultation and examined evidence over health and public safety.
The consultation was the second largest ever run by the Scottish Government, receiving 60,535 valid responses – of which 99% were opposed to fracking.
Commenting, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:
“People in North Lanarkshire and across Scotland had deep concerns about the development of fracking, which is why the Scottish Government put in place a moratorium while the evidence was carefully examined.
“The Scottish Government has now undertaken one of the most far reaching investigations into unconventional oil and gas of any government in the world.
“The judgement is now clear – we could not pursue fracking in confidence that it would not undermine public health or our climate change targets.
“And, importantly, the public consent in the communities like Moodiesburn that would be affected simply isn’t there.
“I’m delighted that the Scottish Government are putting the interests of communities first.”
