EAST Lancashire peer Tony Greaves has raised his concerns over fracking for shale gas directly with a government minister.

He questioned Tory Baroness Verma in the House of Lords.

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Opposition from green campaigners in East Lancashire has grown since The British Geological Society identified the M65 corridor from the north of Blackburn through to Burnley, Nelson and Colne and down the Rossendale Valley as sitting on reserves of shale gas.

Fracking firm Cuadrilla has been granted environmental permits to drill, frack and test gas flows, at two sites in West Lancashire.

Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee is expected to make a decision on whether to approve the company’s two planning applications in early May.

Pendle Liberal Democrat councillor Lord Greaves asked the junior energy minister: “Does the government intend to carry out a full assessment of, and public consultation on, the environmental, landscape and community impacts of any schemes that take place for exploratory fracking before granting any consent for commercial shale gas extraction.”

Baroness Verma said: “The environmental, landscape and community impacts of any exploratory hydraulic fracturing for shale gas are already taken into account through the UK’s regulatory and planning regimes.”

Lord Greaves said: “There are two broad arguments against fracking. The first is that the carbon should be left in the ground, because to remove it will contribute to climate change.

“The second concerns the whole range of environmental, social, cultural and landscape issues around fracking.

“We simply do not know what the effect of fracking will be.

“Surely, it is sensible to have two or three pilot schemes and evaluate those properly.”

Baroness Verma replied: “The economic impact of shale will of course depend on production.

“However, there will clearly be opportunities for the UK to benefit.”

Tony Greaves said afterwards: “While there are currently no proposals for fracking in Pendle, the borough council is rightly conducting a scrutiny review.

“I am unhappy that our MP Andrew Stephenson has come out so strongly in favour of fracking.”

Mr Stephenson said: “Lord Greaves is talking nonsense. It is scaremongering with an election coming up .”