Brent Council reiterates opposition to fracking as company plans to drill for gas in Harlesden

--> Brent Council has reiterated its opposition to fracking in the borough following my recent story LINK about the PR offensive by London Local Energy seeking support for its plans to drill for gas in Artesian Close, Harlesden.
London Local Energy LINK claim to concentrate on the 'product not the process' and so do not mention the word 'fracking' anywhere in their publicity. It is unlikely to be so easy to avoid controversy.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Lead Member for Environment, said today that the council is absolutely opposed to fracking:

We made our position clear in 2013 and this remains unchanged. Any approach by would-be-frackers is not welcome.

In November 2013 Brent Council announced it was seeking to make Brent a 'no-fracking' zone LINK and Cllr Butt, leader of the council, said:

While there may be advantages to fracking in some parts of the country it would be dangerous and reckless for companies to start drilling in Brent. I will do everything legally within my power to address the concerns of residents and keep Brent a frack-free zone.
Councils have significant and widespread powers which allow us to stand up for the rights of residents. I am determined to use these powers to help reassure people that fracking in Brent will always be a non-starter.

While fracking may not be planned for Brent yet, the rapid pace and scale of fracking technology means that we need to act now if we are to ensure we have the necessary examination of the powers we have to potentially prevent it from happening in the future.

Brent Friends of the Earth have made the following statement:

Friends of the Earth has called for fracking to be banned in the UK. In the US and in Australia fracking has contaminated drinking water.  New York State, France and a number of other countries and American States have banned it. Scotland and Wales have also stopped all fracking while they further examine the risks We know that any process which involves extracting and burning more fossil fuels will make climate change worse. That is a huge danger. So let’s not do it. The plans suggested may be better than importing gas as we are currently doing but not better than renewables. We should be concentrating on developing renewable energy.