A COMMUNITY partnership in West Dorset has set out its opposition to fracking.

The West Dorset Partnership - a group of public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations - has marked Climate Change Week by issuing a position statement in response to increasing concerns about the threat of hydraulic fracturing in the area.

The statement highlights the group’s concerns about the enormous quantities of water used in the fracking process and the resulting contamination to air and water which may be potentially catastrophic from an environmental standpoint, particularly in light of West Dorset’s unique natural environment.

It also expresses concerns about the ethical implications of using such unsustainable quantities of water, and the social impacts resulting from disturbance to local residents due to noise and light pollution.

Chair of the West Dorset Partnership Paul Everall said: "The outstanding environment of West Dorset must not be allowed to be damaged by inappropriate development.

"The Government should adopt a more forward thinking approach which is more economically and environmentally sustainable than is fracking."

To read the statement visit dorsetforyou.com/climatechange/west