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Fracking Could Hit House Prices - Official Report

Fracking in rural areas of the country could reduce house prices, increase noise pollution and damage the landscape, a draft official report released by the government reveals.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was forced to release the report by the Information Commissioner following a request under environmental information laws.

Defra had initially published a heavily redacted version of the document - titled Shale Gas: Rural Economy Impacts - last summer, but was told the full version must now be made public.

The report suggested that home owners in areas close to fracking sites could see their house value drop by as much as 7%, while rental prices could be inflated by an influx of workers recruited to carry out the shale gas exploration.

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It also highlights the risk that properties within five miles of exploration sites could face insurance hikes due to the risk of losses in the event of an explosion.

The report comes after Lancashire County Council rejected a planning application from energy company Cuadrilla to carry out exploratory drilling and fracking in Little Plumpton, between Preston (OTC BB: PSNP - news) and Blackpool.

A Defra spokesman said: "We respect the independent decision of the Information Commissioner's Office and have today released this paper in full.

"This document was drawn up as a draft internal discussion paper - it is not analytically robust, has not been peer-reviewed and remains incomplete.

"It does not contain any new data or evidence and many of the conclusions amount to unsubstantiated conjecture which do not represent the views of officials or ministers."

Greenpeace UK energy and climate campaigner Daisy Sands called for an independent inquiry to better understand the impact fracking could have on communities, and accused ministers of attempting to “bury evidence”.

"This report gives the lie to the shale lobby and ministers' claim that there's no evidence of negative impacts for fracking whilst questioning many of the arguments made in favour of it.

"It's a complete vindication of Lancashire County Council's decision to reject Cuadrilla's bid to frack in their region, and provides other councils with compelling reasons to do the same."