Village fracking a no-go, warns Lord Howell

Lord Howell said that it was uneconomic to persist with plans near towns and villages

The UK's nascent shale industry could face certain death if frackers keep ­targeting prospects near towns and ­villages, Lord Howell has warned.

The former energy secretary said that it would be “unwise” and “uneconomic” to persist in fracking plans where developers are likely to face higher costs and local opposition.

“British fracking needs to be extremely efficient to compete with US imports,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. He said local opposition delayed ­projects “and time means money”.

Lord Howell, the father-in-law of former Chancellor George Osborne, said fracking could be undertaken “cleanly and safely” away from more densely populated areas, where property prices would not be put at risk.  In the past he has been criticised for suggesting these areas are more likely to be found in the North East.

The warning comes as would-be shale giant Ineos suffered a second major setback to its UK shale ambitions.  The chemicals firm had spent £50m developing sites in Scotland when ­Holyrood effectively banned all shale activities north of the border.

On Friday, Rotherham Council also ruled out fracking on land it owned or controlled after rejecting Ineos’s application to ­undertake seismic surveys of the local geology where it also has licences.