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Drilling of borehole at Afan Valley beauty spot approved | Drilling of borehole at Afan Valley beauty spot approved |
(35 minutes later) | |
The drilling of a temporary borehole at an Afan Valley beauty spot has been approved by councillors. | The drilling of a temporary borehole at an Afan Valley beauty spot has been approved by councillors. |
About 30 protesters attended a Neath Port Talbot full council meeting to voice their opposition to the proposal. | About 30 protesters attended a Neath Port Talbot full council meeting to voice their opposition to the proposal. |
Councillors were voting on whether to give permission to drill an exploratory borehole for methane and shale gas in a forest above Pontrhydyfen. | Councillors were voting on whether to give permission to drill an exploratory borehole for methane and shale gas in a forest above Pontrhydyfen. |
Residents say it will have a detrimental effect on an area of natural beauty. | Residents say it will have a detrimental effect on an area of natural beauty. |
They say it could pollute local rivers and they also fear, if gas is found, it will lead to the controversial process of fracking. | |
'No unacceptable harm' | |
Last month the Welsh government imposed a moratorium on fracking in Wales but this application for the forest is not covered by that agreement. | |
UK Methane Ltd say they are simply drilling an exploratory bore hole for coal bed methane and shale gas, and they will not be using fracking. | |
Recommending the application for approval, the council's planning officers concluded there would be no unacceptable harm to the local environment to warrant refusal. | |
They say that Natural Resources Wales raised no objections. | |
A previous application had been turned down because of fears the drilling would be extremely noisy, but a Noise Management Plan was submitted as part of the new proposal. | |
Councillors voted to nine to one in favour of the application. | |
Local people said they were disgusted by the decision. |
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