Hydraulic Fracturing for the extraction of natural gas from shale deposits ('Fracking').
An observation from Keyworth Branch Labour Party with regards to the NCC Minerals Policy.

Fracking is a means of extracting gaseous hydrocarbons, i.e. natural gas, from buried shale deposits by drilling vertical (then horizontal!) boreholes into a likely source of gas, using controlled explosions to fracture the surrounding rock and thus to increase its porosity, then using a carrier solution of various chemicals under pressure to further increase the rock porosity and extract the gas. This is not really a 'new' technology - similar processes have been used in 'over mature' oilfields, i.e. those coming to the end of their productive lives, for decades. Improvements in drilling technology over the years have, however, made the process more viable for the exploitation of shale gas resources.
The development and use of Fracking has, up to now, seen its greatest success in the USA where shale gas initially had a significant output and did bring down the price of natural gas. This was mainly due to the particular geological conditions in the USA, where shale-hosting sedimentary basins are large (hundreds of square miles) and have undergone relatively light tectonic deformation. Unlike in the UK, where such basins are much smaller and more strongly deformed. However, there are already signs that the initial success in the US is proving to be short-lived as production costs rise and profits in this sector have tumbled. Clearly the 'low-hanging fruit' have already been picked. Some large companies are already pulling out of the sector, unable to make sufficient returns on their investments.
However, even with the relative early success of Fracking in the US, some serious problems have arisen, especially environmental concerns mostly regarding possible leakage of gas and extraction fluids into aquifers and consequent contamination of water supplies. There have also been examples of minor earth tremors associated with the initial exploration and production stages. There are also infrastructure issues regarding the drilling stage and access for either road tankers or pipelines to transport the gas away from the site and maintain the pumping equipment.

'Fracking' in the UK - and more local matters.
Does the UK really need a Fracking/shale gas industry?
Even under optimum geological conditions (which we don't have in the UK), it is unlikely that, even with extensive development, shale gas will ever be a major component of the UK's energy sector. Given the difficulties involved it seems unlikely that development would proceed without large taxpayer subsidies, making the economic justification for this very fragile. Nevertheless, the Conservatives had the 'development of a shale gas industry' in their 2017 manifesto. This rather suggests that they are keen to transfer taxpayer's money to the shareholders of the Fracking companies with very little benefit for the general public.
Anyway, why do we need to expand another industrial producer of greenhouse gases when the energy sector is already moving towards renewables? Surely investment and public subsidy, if required, should be directed into this area along with emerging and more environmentally sound 'green' technologies.
Would a shale gas industry create a significant number of jobs? Apart from some extra work for specialist drillers, a handful of jobs in construction, a few drivers and security guards, not many. Far more jobs could be created by investment in the renewable energy sector.
Environmental impacts.
Now, many industries have a negative impact on the environment. Our historic heavy industries such as mining and steelmaking are prime examples of this, so we should not automatically decry a 'new' industry because of its possible environmental impacts - though, of course, these should be minimised. However, with Fracking there are both visible environmental impacts arising from the construction of the extraction infrastructure, and potentially more damaging 'invisible' impacts arising from contamination of groundwater.
The latter is of particular interest in our area where Fracking companies are keen on exploring the shale resources of the Widmerpool Basin, a largely buried sedimentary basin in the East Midlands lying mainly to the south and east of Derby. The shales in this basin are the deep-water contemporaries of the white Carboniferous Limestones of the Peak District, about 300 million years old. These deposits are mainly rather organic-rich dark bituminous mudstones. The shales may well be rich in hydrocarbon gases, but they are also rich in a number of trace elements, notably cadmium, uranium and molybdenum, which may have toxic effects under certain conditions. To work the deeply-buried Widmerpool shales the drilling operation would have to pass through the Sherwood Sandstone, the most important aquifer for both public and industrial water supply in the East Midlands (and the main water source for the brewing industry in Burton). The environmental, economic and health impacts of contaminating this aquifer with either Fracking fluids or liberated soluble cadmium, molybdenum or uranium in solution would be highly significant, and little short of disastrous.
Similar concerns regarding Fracking have been widely expressed, and many local authorities have already moved to ban exploration and development on the basis of the risk of serious environmental damage. Some nations, such as Ireland, have also banned Fracking on this basis.
In the circumstances, we recommend that Fracking should not be permitted by the local authority until there has been a much more rigorous investigation of the risks involved and a full cost-benefit analysis, including legal liabilities for environmental damage, has been carried out.