Wednesday 24 August 2011

Local politicians welcome 5 new jobs in the area.

http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Fancy-a-future-in-gas-drilling.jpg

Here's some good PR for Cuadrilla on the face of it.

Read between the lines and it's not so exciting..

There's no promise or guarantee that these jobs (or any future jobs) will go to local people - it's merely a possibility and if you look at case studies throughout the US, where gas drilling is in operation on a massive scale, the gas drilling companies bring in their own specialist/trained staff and/or specialist/trained contractors - get it done and leave.

And come on, FIVE jobs, really? That's enough to 'please' local politicians?!
Even without the controversy and dangers surrounding this issue, five positions isn't, in my opinion, really that exciting. Besides which the companies involved in this will be making millions if the Lancashire sites are viable for extraction, there's only one winner and it isn't the local economy.

It is a positive, however small, so I musn't grumble too fiercely.

I just can't help but fear that this will not balance up with the tens/hundreds of jobs that might be lost long term in the area if the gas extraction goes ahead through reductions in tourism and leisure, an industry which currently thrives on the Fylde. That is bound to change, there's no doubt, because no one wants to holiday in a gas field.

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