UK council recommends approval for Cuadrilla fracking permit

LONDON (Reuters) - Shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources received a boost in its plan to start fracking in north west England on Monday when local government recommended that its application to drill up to four exploration wells should be granted. The company's project at Preston New Road near Blackpool could become Britain's first shale gas production wells, and could lead a drive to develop the unconventional resource as Britain's North Sea gas and oil production declines. The council, however, recommended another application for a nearby site at Roseacre Wood should not be granted because its construction work would create too much traffic. Monday's recommendations are proposals made by local officials to Lancashire County councillors who will make final decisions on the applications next week. "We will await the Councillors’ decisions on both these applications at the end of June," Cuadrilla said in a statement. Obtaining planning permits has been the biggest obstacle to shale gas developments, and the applications by Cuadrilla have been held up for months. Shale gas fracking is opposed by environmentalists, who claim the method of blasting water and chemicals at rock formations to release trapped gas can contaminate ground water and cause earth tremors. "Rejecting Cuadrilla's plans is the only way to stop Lancashire's communities and environment being made the UK's guinea pig for risky and polluting fracking," said Furqan Naeem, campaigner at environmental group Friends of the Earth. As well as Cuadrilla, AIM-listed company IGas Energy has plans to start fracking in the area. (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Karolin Schaps; editing by Kate Holton and Louise Heavens)