VAST areas of the Braintree countryside could be torn up by fracking operations after experts ruled that shale oil and gas may be trapped under north Essex.
A consultation by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) into onshore oil and gas licensing concluded that an area encompassing Uttlesford and Braintree could contain shale gas or oil.
The entire north-west corner of the county was earmarked as a potential area for shale gas exploration in the 14th round of licences from the DECC, after a four-month consultation that ended in March.
This could see areas west of Tiptree and Great Horkesley, and north of Little Waltham and Sheering, become subject to bids from the likes of Cuadrilla, the company behind testing in Balcombe, West Sussex, where mass protests have taken place over the last year.
Braintree resident and bike shop worker Steve Collins said: "The level of environmental damage that would be done is not simply natural gas, but all major roads in the area would see an increase in HGVs.
"If Braintree became known as a fracking area no one would want to move there and it would become a ghost town," added the 49-year-old Friends of the Earth campaigner.
Areas are selected as Strategic Environmental Assessment Areas by the British Geological Survey.
Oil and gas companies can then bid for licences to search for these resources, once planning permission is granted by local authorities.
Witham Northern Green Councillor James Abbott on Tuesday tabled a motion asking Essex County Council to acknowledge the adverse impact of fracking and for a suspension of this process.
Cllr Abbott said: "The county council has a duty as the minerals authority to consider any application for exploration. We believe the authority should be ready for that and decide what our policy is.
"The possibility of unconventional gas and oil exploration in Essex is of great concern, with the added lorries and emissions, not to mention the change to trespass law proposed by the Government to allow drilling under people's property."
But his only ally in the chamber was fellow Green Cllr Michael Hoy.
After only two votes in favour, there were laughs of derision by cabinet member for highways and transportation Cllr Rodney Bass.
Cllr Roger Walters, member for Three Fields and Great Notley, which also falls in the potential licensing area, said: "This is an entirely self-serving motion and not for the good of the people of the UK or Essex.
"In effect it is saying no to the improvement of our energy services, as we now import 43 per cent of energy, often from quite unstable countries like Nigeria.
"Shale gas resources are estimated at 37 trillion cubic metres, our energy usage of gas at the moment is 22 billion so that puts it into context.
"To keep this going for many years, I don't know how green that is."
Environmental campaigners in the US and Australia have claimed water supplies have been contaminated due to nearby fracking, but politicians see it as a way of making the country self-sufficient.
A spokesman for Essex County Council said: "The council does not believe there are exploitable deposits of shale gas in Essex as the British Geological Survey understands there is no prospect of either Jurassic or Carboniferous shale gas."
But campaigners maintain licences could still be bid for and that even exploration and testing would be disastrous.
James Price, of Chelmsford Friends of the Earth, said: "The point is they won't know if there is gas until they start drilling, and even exploratory operations can cause untold damage.
"It would be great if Essex County Council could take a position and pledge to stop fracking, it sends a powerful message.
"But I suspect that's exactly what they don't want to do, they don't want to scare off big companies as they are likely to receive pressure from central government to allow exploration."
