Agenda item

The Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 1st October, had passed a motion on Licences for Fracking and Exploration and Extraction of Fossil Fuels, which had been proposed by Councillor Baker:

“This Council recognises that we are in a climate emergency and, being aware of the environmental and public health damage caused by fracking and the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons, agrees to write to the Minister for the Economy and to the Minister for Infrastructure to establish their respective intentions regarding (i) the issuing of exploratory licences and (ii) the removal of Permitted Development Rights for hydrocarbon exploration which are currently provided for under Part 16 of the Planning Order (Northern Ireland) 2015.

The Council also calls upon the Northern Ireland Executive to place an immediate ban on all petroleum licensing and deny permitted development rights to any company seeking to prospect for oil and or/gas.”

            The City Solicitor informed the Committee that responses have now been received from the Minister for the Economy and the Minister for Infrastructure.

            The Minister for the Economy, within her response, had confirmed that the policy governing the issue of Permitted Development Rights for hydrocarbon exploration was the responsibility of the Department for Infrastructure and that she had, therefore, no comment to make on that matter. However, that section of the motion dealing with the issuing of exploratory licences and calling upon the Northern Ireland Executive to place an immediate ban on all petroleum licensing did fall within her remit.

            She had explained that, on 13th October, in response to a Private Member’s motion on Onshore Petroleum Licensing and Drilling, she had outlined in the Northern Ireland Assembly her position on a moratorium or ban on petroleum development, as well as her intentions regarding the handling of two current petroleum licence applications. The full transcript of that debate can be accessed by clicking on the following link and scrolling down to page 28: http://data.niassembly.gov.uk/HansardXml/plenary-13-10-2020.pdf

            The Minister for Infrastructure, within her response, recognised, like the Council, that there was a climate emergency and had stressed that she was continually examining ways in which to address it. She referred to the fact that, on 5th October, she had announced her intention to bring forward a package of changes to permitted development rights, including the removal of permitted development rights for petroleum (oil and gas) exploration. Her proposals would be presented to the Infrastructure Committee in the coming weeks for scrutiny.

            The Minister had then pointed out that her Department also had a responsibility for regional planning policy, including the Strategic Planning Policy Statement provisions that “there should be a presumption against the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon extraction until there is sufficient and robust evidence on all environmental impacts.” She confirmed that her position on this issue, like those of her predecessors, remained unchanged, and that, in her view, that remained an appropriate precautionary approach.

            The Minister had then highlighted the need to note that any proposals for development, involving unconventional hydrocarbon extraction, were likely to be determined by her Department as regionally significant development. Such proposals would be assessed on their individual merits and would take into account Strategic Planning Policy Statement provisions, the views of consultees and all other material planning considerations, including health and environmental impacts. Finally, she had pointed out that there were currently no such planning applications before the Department for Infrastructure for consideration.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.