The Development Control Committee of Lancashire County Council met on Thursday 4 December 2025. The committee considered an extension for restoration works at the Preston New Road Exploration Site and noted the minutes from their previous meeting.

Preston New Road Exploration Site Restoration Extension Consideration

The committee considered an amendment to a planning permission for the Preston New Road Exploration Site, located off Preston New Road, Little Plumpton. This amendment sought to extend the deadline for the completion of restoration works until 30 June 2027.

The original planning permission, granted in 2016, stipulated that all exploration, testing, and restoration activities must be completed within 75 months of commencement. This deadline was subsequently extended to 30 June 2025. The applicant, Cuadrilla, sought a further two-year extension, citing the need for environmental monitoring, specifically groundwater monitoring, to be completed before the site could be fully restored. This monitoring is a requirement for the Environment Agency to surrender its permit for the site.

During the meeting, concerns were raised by Councillor John Singleton JP and Westby with Plumptons Parish Council regarding the repeated requests for extensions and the perceived lack of enforcement by the council. Councillor Singleton argued that the site had already had sufficient time for restoration and that a further extension would set a precedent for future applications. He urged the committee to reduce the extension to 18 months and to implement enforcement penalties.

The committee's report noted that the applicant had only recently completed the plugging and abandonment of the boreholes in Spring 2025, making it impossible to meet the original restoration deadline. The report also stated that the visual impact of the site, with its fencing and hardstanding, was already present and that the proposed extension would not significantly increase these impacts compared to the current situation. However, the report concluded that retaining the site in its current form for an additional two years was unnecessary and unacceptable and conflicted with national planning policy and local development plans, which emphasise the need for restoration at the earliest opportunity.

Ultimately, the committee's recommendation was to refuse the application for the extension. The minutes record that the decision was to refuse the application for the extension.

Minutes of Previous Meeting Noted

The minutes from the Development Control Committee meeting held on 15 October 2025 were proposed and seconded. No discussion or amendments were noted for this item.