Fracking: communities may miss out on cash payments

‘Thousands of people exposed to disruption from fracking near their homes could miss out on promised cash payments, while new areas earmarked for drilling are unlikely to be identified until after the election, the Telegraph has learnt.

Energy giant Ineos, which wants to frack hundreds of wells around the UK, on Tuesday disclosed that it had not agreed to a Government-backed industry pledge to pay local communities £100,000 for every site fracked during exploration.

It came as sources said the Government was likely to delay awarding new shale gas and oil exploration rights across vast swathes of Britain until after the election, amid concerns fracking is a vote-loser.’

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