Policy information sourced from the Minerals local plan for Berkshire (Part 1)

Policy 17

Proposals relating to oil and gas will be judged in accordance with the following principles:

  1. Proposals to carry out exploratory drilling will normally be permitted unless they would cause harm to sites or areas which are particularly sensitive in environmental terms, and provided that they are accompanied by satisfactory schemes of working and restoration;
  2. Proposals for further drilling at the appraisal stage will be considered on their merits in terms of the issues listed in Policy 7 of this Plan, having particular regard to the long-term suitability of the site for commercial production and distribution;
  3. Proposals for the commercial production of these minerals, or for the establishment of related plant, will be judged strictly on their merits in terms of the key principles set out in Policy 6 and the issues listed in Policy 7. Applications will normally only be permitted if
    • the need for the development outweighs all environmental, agricultural, amenity and other relevant planning considerations; and
    • the proposal is acceptable in terms of national and county constraints, as set out in Policies 11 to 13; and
    • the details of the proposal, including the proposals for the method of working, site restoration, after-care and after-use, satisfy the detailed requirements set out in this Plan; and
    • proposals for plant and building are acceptable in terms of Policy 28.

For more information please see the Minerals local plan for Berkshire (Part 1)