The government has fired the starting gun for a new wave of fracking across 1,000 square miles of English countryside, with the awarding of dozens of drilling licences.
In an announcement that delighted the oil industry and appalled environmentalists, ministers announced the winners of 27 new exploration blocks — the first onshore UK drilling licences to be awarded in seven years.
The licences will unlock about 1,000 square miles of Britain thought,
to be rich in shale gas, including areas near Nottingham, Sheffield, Lincoln and Preston, to oil exploration.
Defying widespread public hostility, a further 132 blocks covering 5, thetimes
0 on: "Swathes of the English countryside are licensed for fast-track fracking ..."