Worry for homeowners who face the threat of fracking | Money | The Observer

Worry for homeowners who face the threat of fracking | Money | The Observer

Fracking has already caused small earthquakes in the north-west, but homeowners in the vicinity of shale gas extraction could face an even worse aftershock: falling house prices.

John Johnson, manager of estate agent Farrell Heyworth in the Lancashire town of Poulton-le-Fylde, near one of the main drilling sites, says: "There are a lot of properties coming on to the market, and some of the owners are saying they want to get out before prices start dropping."

Fracking involves drilling a well hundreds of metres into the ground and pumping it full of water, sand and chemicals to fracture the rock and release methane gas. The process was halted in the UK in June 2011 after two earthquakes in two months near Blackpool followed drilling at sites in Lancashire by Cuadrilla Resources. An independent scientific report recently recommended that fracking could resume, subject to stricter controls, but fracking companies are still awaiting the results of a government review