Cuadrilla 'will seek fresh fracking licences' for Lancashire

Fracking has been suspended across the UK over concerns about earthquakes

Cuadrilla will apply for fresh drilling licences in Lancashire once the government lifts its moratorium on fracking, the energy company has said.

On Thursday, the Environment Agency (EA) revealed details of the firm's partial surrender of licences for its test drilling site at Little Plumpton.

In 2019, the government suspended all fracking over concerns about tremors.

The firm said it would reapply for licences at a number of sites "as and when" that suspension was lifted.

In a statement, the company said it had "surrendered these licences more than six months ago and the EA are only registering that now".

"As there is a moratorium on fracking, we are not incurring the cost of licences we can't currently use," the statement said.

"We will apply for the relevant licences at this or other sites as and when the moratorium is lifted."

The Environment Agency notice said the company, which received the government go-ahead for fracking in 2016, had given up consent to inject hydraulic fracturing fluid, incinerate gases and manage drilling waste at the Preston New Road site in Little Plumpton.

It retains its permission to manage waste caused by decommissioning its wells and disposing of non-hazardous waste and drain surface water from the site.

Welcoming the news on Thursday, anti-fracking campaigners said the decision showed fracking was "finished" in the county.