Fracking firm lodging appeal after council rejects its planning application
A bit of interesting planning case law for rural communities is working itself out in the context of this story. The article tells us:
A fracking company is lodging an appeal against a county council decision to refuse it permission to explore for oil and gas.
West Sussex county council’s planning committee refused the application by Celtique Energie for oil and gas exploration near Wisborough Green, a conservation area just outside the South Downs national park, in July.
The refusal, thought to be the first time a council had rejected a planning application by a fracking company, was welcomed by local campaigners and environmentalists.
The county council said it turned down the application because Celtique did not demonstrate the site represented the best option compared with other sites, it had unsafe highways access and would have had an adverse impact on the area.
The company has now said it is lodging an appeal with the planning inspectorate, claiming the council’s reasons for rejecting the application were “fundamentally unsound”.
Geoff Davies, chief executive at Celtique Energie said: “We are firmly of the view that West Sussex County Council has not followed the spirit or the letter of Government policy or good practice in dealing with this planning application, which is totally compliant, comprehensive and of high quality.