A UTILITY giant which owns vast tracts of land across East Lancashire is in talks with fracking bosses over a possible partnership, it has been revealed.

United Utilities (UU) has confirmed it has been in discussions with Cuadrilla over a potential link-up, according to reports.

The Lancashire Telegraph revealed earlier this month how the east of the county is sitting on untapped reserves of shale gas.

Cuadrilla’s Fylde coast test drilling was suspended last year after two earth tremors were linked to the controversial technique.

Huge swathes of land, particularly around Pennine reservoirs, are owned by UU. Fracking involves pumping large volumes of water and chemicals into shale at high pressure to fracture rocks and produce gas.

The announcements comes as a former mayor has called on Burnley council chiefs to be at the forefront of any future shale gas expansion programme.

Coun David Heginbotham, who represents Cliviger and Worsthorne, believes his borough should be quick to seize any benefits which might be associated with the drilling regime.

Coun Heginbotham told a council meeting: “I was wondering if we had had any enquiries from shale gas companies and if we haven’t whether we should be chasing them?

“We should be getting them to come to Burnley and develop claims around here.”

Coun Shah Hussain, regeneration cabinet member, said no official approaches had yet been made in Burnley by fracking firms.

He added: “I am not sure how this might work but I imagine a lot of people may object to these companies drilling near their homes.

“We really would have to look into this – if we have natural resources like this we would need to look at how we could extract them safely and is it really worth it.”