Households could get £1,000 if they agree to fracking sites nearby

2022-10-08

Households could be handed £1,000 in ‘royalty’ payments if they agree to have fracking sites built nearby in radical plan to overcome opposition to the drilling

Companies would go door-to-door trying to convince residents of the benefits
If more than half of families give approval, it would be considered ‘local consent’
Those living nearby could receive cash incentives between £500 and £1,000
If shale gas is found those who own the land could be offered share of proceeds

Households could be handed as much as £1,000 if they agree to have fracking sites built nearby.

Under a radical plan to overcome opposition to the drilling, companies would go door-to-door trying to convince residents of the benefits.

If more than half of families near a proposed development give approval, it would be considered to have received ‘local consent’ and be fast-tracked through the planning process.

Households could be handed as much as £1,000 if they agree to have fracking sites built nearby

Those living nearby, including any who opposed the plan, could receive cash incentives funded by the industry of between £500 and £1,000. And if shale gas is found, those who own the land above fracking sites could also be offered a share of the proceeds.

The ‘royalty’ payments would either be given as cash or money off energy bills. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is expected to outline plans for Britain’s fracking push in the next month after Prime Minister Liz Truss lifted the three-year ban.

At a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference, Mr Rees-Mogg suggested energy firms could ‘go around, door to door… and ask people if they would consent’. He added: ‘Then they have to go around to an identifiable community and if they get 50 per cent plus one in favour then they should be able to go ahead.’

Whitehall sources said a payment scheme could ‘unlock’ development by compensating residents for disruption.

A source told The Times: ‘If you can say to them that they are going to be compensated from that disruption and then get regular payment when those wells are productive then that can change people’s perception on whether they will support the project or not.’

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