I am slightly surprised that Trafford MBC is opposing fracking in the area.

It has been well documented that power stations are being closed down around the country and that there is a need for replacement.

It is also well documented that there is a need to clean up the atmosphere with a view to easing global warming and although the UK contribution to global warming is minimal, we should continue to do our bit.

Wind and solar power are not really an option because wind is unpredictable and sometimes is too strong and at others absent and can't be guaranteed at peak periods.

The solar option is also problematical - not much sun in the winter or at night when it is needed. Both these options require vast arrays of turbines or solar panels if they are to provide anything like sufficient energy.

The need for more power generation in this country is now becoming urgent so what is the answer?

Nuclear energy would be good but is very expensive and will take years to be up and running assuming that anyone is prepared to build them.

A far better option is gas or perhaps oil fired generators as interim providers, these are not perfect and do release some CO2 but can be relatively quickly brought on stream plugging the gap until sensible green power is available.

That being the case we need secure and low cost supplies over a long period of time and the best way to do this is via fracking.

Councillor Western states that she has seen no evidence that fracking - or even exploration - is safe, well, there is very little evidence that it is unsafe and incidents have been few and far between from the hundreds of wells which have been drilled elsewhere.

Of course there is a downside, there is with every form of power generation but do we want to keep the lights on?

I fear that politicians have been swayed by the highly vocal green lobby with its scare tactics and that they are more concerned with not losing votes than they are with considering the good of the country, which, as I have said, is in desperate need of further energy supplies.

Geoff Flood,

Timperley