Formby could be set for fracking after an energy company has confirmed its intention to submit a planning application for drilling later this year.
Aurora Energy Resources have declared their plans to bring forward proposals for future exploration in the area for some point in 2017.
This could mean planning applications being submitted to begin exploratory drilling for shale gas near Formby.
Managing Director of Aurora Energy Resources, Ian Roche, said: “Prior to any planning application being submitted, we will hold a public information event about the proposed development, the feedback from which will inform our application.
“Members of the public will also be able to comment on any planning application during the consultation period prior to it being determined.
“Aurora previously drilled a couple of wells at the Formby site in 2012, on land owned by the Church Commissioners for England.
“These sites have since been restored to agricultural use.“
Campaign group Frack Free Formby believe that the most likely location for drilling is the site of the old Formby Oilfield, located around half a mile from the Formby by-pass.
Frack Free Formby are urging Lancashire County Council and Sefton Council to refuse Aurora’s planning application, and hope to get a substantial number of local groups and residents to object to the proposal.
In 2011, the BBC reported on a study which found it to be “highly probable” that shale gas test drilling triggered earth tremors in Lancashire.
However, the report, commissioned by energy firm Cuadrilla, also said the quakes were due to an “unusual combination of geology at the well site”.
It said conditions which caused the minor earthquakes were “unlikely to occur again”.
To discuss the implications of any potential planning application with Formby residents, Frack Free Formby are holding a public meeting at 7.30 pm on Wednesday March 15 at the Formby Cricket Club.
Aurora Energy Resources is a UK company based in Aberdeen, holding four Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences across Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
The company’s website says: “The recent recognition by the British Geological Survey of the potential for significant gas resources in northern England provides an opportunity to open a new chapter in the hydrocarbon story of the region.
“The UK is highly experienced in the regulation of oil & gas activity, both onshore and offshore, and the public can have confidence that any future activities will be regulated effectively by the appropriate independent bodies.
“Aurora is committed to exploring its licences safely and with due regard to the amenity of local residents and to the environment.”
