INTERNATIONAL seismic contractors have had their bid to carry out survey work on Cheshire West land in connection with gas and oil exploration rejected.

Tesla Exploration Limited had requested access from the authority to council-owned land to undertake the second phase of a seismic survey.

The initial phase was undertaken by the company on council land in November.

However the request to be allowed to undertake the second phase has been declined by Cllr Mark Henesy, the council’s Cabinet member for environment and community.

Cllr Henesy said: “It is important to note that this is not a policy decision.

“Currently any requests received by the council to carry out seismic testing on its land are determined on their individual merits.”

Tesla Exploration Limited is based in Canada, and is described on its website as ‘one of the largest international seismic contractors in the world’.

Decisions as to whether to grant access to council land for such purposes would normally be delegated to officers.

However officers referred the most recent request to Cllr Henesy, having taken into account the new Labour administration’s manifesto pledge in relation to shale gas extraction.

The pledge stated: “We will seek to put a moratorium on the extraction of shale gas methane in the Cheshire West and Chester area until the legitimate environmental and safety concerns of our residents can be addressed.”

Between September 2014 and March this year an Unconventional Gas and Oil Extraction Working Group was convened to identify the main issues, concerns and opportunities which may be associated with oil and gas development in the borough.

A council decision notice on the Tesla survey request which was declined said the findings of the group were yet to be reported to the council’s Cabinet, which was yet to form a view on the council’s policy position in relation to requests of this nature.

The notice said: “Consequently, and in accordance with its democratic mandate derived from the above-mentioned manifesto pledge, the Cabinet currently remains unconvinced as to the safety and merits of shale gas extraction, and is not inclined to assist in advancing gas extraction projects where it has the discretion to decline to do so.”

One of the remits of the working group was to advise the Cheshire West Executive (now the Cabinet) on its key findings following an investigation into the issues associated with conventional and unconventional on-shore gas and oil techniques.