Louth and Horncastle’s Member of Parliament, Victoria Atkins, visited Biscathorpe on January 26 to discuss the issues surrounding the oil exploration site. Accompanied by Community Liaison Group Chairman Nick Bodian, Lincolnshire County Councillor, Hugo Marfleet and the ELDC Councillor for Binbrook, Richard Fry, the local MP visited the site and discussed the proposals and their potential impact.
The process of oil drilling on farmland in Biscathorpe began in March 2015 when Egdon Resourcing Plc obtained temporary planning permission from Lincolnshire County Council to drill a conventional exploratory oil well. This permission was extended to December 2020 in May last year.
Egdon Resources state that their proposal is for conventional drilling only, and this should not be mistaken for the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for shale gas. There is evidence that Biscathrope and the surrounding area in Lincolnshire do not have the specific rock formation which contains shale gas and therefore would not be suitable.
Following the visit, Victoria commented, ‘’It was important to me that I visited the site in Biscathorpe to see first-hand what was taking place at the site and its effect on the local landscape. I understand the strength of feeling in the area and wanted to hear directly from local residents and community leaders about their concerns”.