DESPITE the fact that the process is banned in other European countries the government proposes granting licences to companies to test drill for gas in the U.K. using the hydraulic shale gas fracturing (fracking) process.

Exactly where has yet to be clarified, but it is pretty certain that the leafy home counties will be unaffected for as Lord Howell said there are suitable desolate areas in the north!

Furthermore, unsurprisingly, some of the southern counties have conveniently been judged to have insufficient gas to make it worth accessing!

In the north Cuadrilla has already drilled test sites in Lancashire, where the casings seemingly cracked and the drill bores leached polluted waste water, and seismological disturbances were also widely reported.

Therefore Has it been established that the chemicals used in the drilling are safe?

Possibly even more importantly, we need to know just how the polluted waste water (flow back) can be safely decontaminated, as treatment sites in the U.K. are scarce on the ground and the polluted water would have to be transported for decontamination, but how, is, as yet, unknown.

Water is of course a vital component of the fracking process and while we currently seem to have sufficient for our needs, water shortages are not unknown in the UK.

Therefore we have to ask whether supplies are sufficient for the fracking industry which is dependent on large quantities of available fresh water., for In the U.S., where fracking has taken place, both water shortages and water pollution have been experienced.

Another somewhat unaddressed question is the possibility of seismological disturbances.

These occur daily throughout the U.K. and, while normally too low to cause damage, we can all remember the one in Stoke-on-Trent which was felt as far away as Knutsford.

Furthermore if anyone still has doubts as to whether fracking causes seismological disturbances then they should look at the experiences of Blackpool and sites such as Azle in Texas.

Of course this scenario may be scaremongering but considering that gas is stored underground in disused salt mines near Northwich where test drilling is proposed, any disturbance of the environment could have consequences.

The risks may be small but they are real, as reported in the American Geological Society about damage in Oklahoma due to fracking.

There are even doubts about the economic benefits in the U.K. as outlined last year in the Professional Engineer` wherein the issue was examined and concluded that land-based fracking is not suitable for the U.K. due to geophysical and population issues, though offshore fracking, while far more expensive, is more suitable and should be explored.

Despite the negative views expressed seemingly exploration licences are being granted in Cheshire despite the fact that we were assured by Cheshire East Council some time ago that fracking would not take place in Cheshire.!

It should further be noted that our Member of Parliament George Osborne is an enthusiastic supporter of fracking, though of course living where he does, he has little to fear personally from any resultant ill effects from the process.

He prefers to concentrate on the hypothetical economic benefits to be gained from fracking rather than any possible environmental damage to this overpopulated island of ours.

Yours faithfully

Knutsford resident

Name and address supplied