POLITICIANS in Bolton have agreed to strongly oppose any fracking on council-owned land.

A motion was passed at a meeting of Bolton’s full council on Wednesday, stating that the authority will not allow the controversial process of shale gas extraction on any land it owns.

The motion, put forward by Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Martin, followed the submission of a petition signed by 2,500 residents who are opposed to hydraulic fracturing taking place in the borough.

Responding to the motion, council leader Cllr Cliff Morris re-iterated his stance that the council will “oppose any fracking as a starting point”.

He added: “We are sticking to what we believe and what we believe at this stage is that we shouldn’t have fracking in Bolton.

“We are opposing this very strongly. We may have to eventually make an informed decision, but there is no information at the moment, so we oppose it.”

Concerns about fracking have grown locally since the government announced in August that it will offer a licence to drilling firm Osprey, which will allow it to carry out exploratory work in an area of land covering Horwich, Blackrod, Rivington and Belmont.

The government has also earmarked the rest of Bolton as having potential for shale gas extraction — with consultation and environmental assessments now taking place.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks in order to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.

Setting out his motion, Cllr Martin explained the risks of the process and warned against government interventions in local planning decisions.

He said: “There are concerns about the possible effects of earth tremors, contamination of ground water, air pollution and the possible impact on human health as a result of fracking.

“We have also seen a draft Defra report which forecasts that house prices are likely to fall by up to seven per cent within a mile of fracking wells, and that the cost of house insurance will rise within five miles of fracking wells.”

He added: “I would also ask the council to agree to oppose strongly any attempt to weaken or override its powers as a planning authority when considering any applications for fracking.”

Conservative councillor Bob Allen suggested that the motion was an example of “grandstanding” and was more about “politics than the people of Bolton”.

But he did back its general principles, adding: “It is essential that this council retains its position as a planning authority.”