MPs have voted to allow hydraulic fracturing, known as 'fracking', under national parks as long as it takes place at a depth of 1,200m with the actual drilling taking place on the surface outside of the national park.
The controversial method of fracking is designed to release shale gas from rock under the Earth's surface by fracturing that rock, although doubts are being cast on the long term environmental damage that fracking could cause.
In a debate about fracking in January in the House of Commons, MPs rejected an outright ban on fracking but pledged that there would be a ban on fracking in national parks. Now, it seems, MPs have made a U-turn on that pledge, and have approved the Draft Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing (Protected Areas) Regulations 2015 in a vote of 298 against 261.
Under the new provisions, fracking will only be allowed 1,200m or more below a national park, Area of Outstanding National Beauty, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and World Heritage Sites. The provisions do not mention Sites of Special Scientific interest.
Whilst this decision has attracted criticism from some MPs and groups such as Greenpeace, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said, "The UK has one of the best track records in the world for protecting our environment while developing our industries - these regulations will get this vital industry moving while protecting our environment and people.
They added that a Task Force for Shale Gas report "confirmed exactly what we have been saying for some time - that with the right standards in place fracking can take place safely."
