Cuadrilla: Fracking firm given new deadline to plug wells

Cuadrilla carried out hydraulic fracturing at Preston New Road near Blackpool

Energy firm Cuadrilla has been told it must plug its two shale gas wells on land on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire by the end of next year.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has issued the order for the site at Preston New Road near Blackpool.

Fracking was banned at the site following concerning tremors in 2019.

Cuadrilla had been originally told to cap the wells with concrete by June 2023.

Miranda Cox, from Frack Free Lancashire, described the news as "long overdue".

"Obviously, we will fully believe it when the last piece of equipment and every last grain of silica sand has been removed, but we think this really means there are no more excuses," she said.

"Cuadrilla has been the bane of our lives for over a decade. The stress and ramifications of their failed fracking attempts will never be forgotten nor forgiven."

Lengthy protests

The company had carried out drilling operations at Preese Hall near Blackpool, which were linked to two minor tremors in 2011.

Six years later, the arrival of Cuadrilla's drills at Preston New Road in Little Plumpton - after the government overturned the county council's refusal of permission for hydraulic fracturing to be carried out on the site - saw lengthy protests from environmental groups and local communities.

A spokesperson for NSTA said that it had issued "a Plug and Abandonment notice on the two Preston New Road wells operated by Cuadrilla" on 9 August.

"The company now has until 30 December, 2024 to complete the work," the regulator added.

Cuadrilla did not respond to a request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service for comment.

The ban on fracking for shale gas in England was lifted by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss in September, but was then reinstated by Rishi Sunak.

The controversial process, which involves drilling into the earth to recover gas from shale rock, was trialled at Preston New Road.