UK Fracking Project Approvals Should Stay Local, Lawmakers Say

The U.K. government should keep local officials in charge of the process of whether to approve new natural gas-fracking projects, a panel of lawmakers from the national Parliament said.

The House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee recommended the government step away from its effort to centralize approvals under the system for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

In a report, the panel, which is drawn from the main political parties in Parliament, said local authorities will be more trusted than national ones in making decisions.

“Taking decision-making powers away from local planning authorities would be a backward step,” ...