Proposed Meeting With Cuadrilla Cancelled

Hi, further to other notes put out on the possible meeting with cuadrilla. This meeting will no longer be going ahead. There will be no open meeting at this stage. The present situation is that Cuadrilla have not yet accepted the licences for our area but will probably do so by the end of the year. They then have to conduct a geological survey to take the relevant data to decide whether it is worth fracking. They have 5 years from this point to assess the exploration sites and if they decide to go ahead with drilling they have to go to planning and at this point there will be extensive public consultation.

As you can see we are a long way off anything happening and everybody will be given the opportunity to attend public meetings/consultations, put in any objection they feel, campaign to their MP’s etc.

Cuadrilla will contact Gabrielle and I once they have accepted the licences and will see if we still wish to meet.

Please also see the guidance note from ERNLLCA which clearly shows the rules for meetings.

Thank you to those people who contacted me to discuss this matter.

Cheers

Paul 

Guidance Note From ERNLLCA

1          A parish council meeting must be properly convened by giving three clear days notice.  The agenda must schedule the business to be transacted.

2          There is indeed no such thing as a confidential meeting although the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, section 2, empowers a council to exclude the press and public for all or part of the meeting owing to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed.  In summary the public has the right to attend a meeting but the council has the power to exclude them.

3          There is nothing in law to prevent there being a meeting between councillors and any organisation with which it wishes to have a conversation or to be briefed on a topic.  For example, representatives of councils come to ERNLLCA for advice – the public are not present when that happens.  These are not meetings of council, or any of its committees, they are briefing meetings for councillors and are a common and essential element of local government.  There will be no public notice of meeting or agenda published because there will not be a meeting of council.

4          There is nothing in law to prevent there being a meeting between the councillors and INEOS Upstream or Cuadrilla  but it will not be a council meeting.

Should your parish council wish to meet INEOS Upstream or Cuadrilla to hear a presentation on their business and plans you may do so but it may be prudent to offer to also meet with Frack Free East Yorkshire or any group which has a counter view to that organisation.