The Country Land and Business Association has written to Energy Minister Mathew Hancock expressing their concern that the government is failing to recognise that landowner's rights are being infringed by shale gas developments.
The letter was sent in response to the government's Underground Drilling Access consultation which the CLA believes does not 'provide adequate protection' where rights are infringed.
The letter highlights that CLA members own or manage “a significant proportion of land situated above unconventional oil and gas reserves” and that while the organisation recognises the “strong economic arguments” for the development of shale gas, concerns remain about proposed changes to access. The CLA says the Government’s response does not address the issue of long-term liabilities and how landowners will be protected from any liabilities.
CLA President Henry Robinson writes that “it does not seem sensible for Government to be proposing amendments to the Infrastructure Bill to enable unrestricted access for the shale gas industry before this issue has been fully addressed and adequate protection for landowners is in place”.
Mr Robinson states in his letter that although the Government’s response to the consultation “seemed to take the position that identifying individual landowners was impractical” and that the shale gas industry was “not in a position to be able to compensate landowners individually”.
Yet recent proposals from Ineos to share six percent of the income from any wells in production directly with landowners and the local community appear to “undermine the industry assertion that providing payment to individual landowners is unviable”.
Robinson says the Ineos proposal seems to directly recognise those whose property rights are affected, and also has the potential to be “more appropriate than the £20,000 voluntary community fund” proposed in the consultation.
Mr Robinson has requested a meeting with Mr Hancock to discuss in more detail the Government’s proposed amendments to the Infrastructure Bill and how land and property owners can be better recognised in the development of UK shale resources.
