OPPOSITION to stop land in Wiltshire being used for fracking is growing, as more than 150 residents from across Trowbridge and Warminster attended anti-fracking meetings this week.

Altogether 132 locations in the UK – including areas in Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster and Bradford on Avon – have been put forward for consultation by the government.

Dr Becky Martin from Keep Wiltshire Frack Free, said: “We had about 120 people attend the Warminster meeting on Tuesday and 40 in Trowbridge where we showed documentaries about fracking. There were some great questions and lots of people were interested and the response has been quite overwhelming really.

“People are shell-shocked knowing that it might be put nearby and they are raring to go to campaign and protest against it.

“We already have two groups who have formed, the Warminster Anti-Fracking Community and Trowbridge Area Frack Free.”

As well as the two meetings there was also opposition from councillors at Trowbridge’s full council meeting on Tuesday, where a number of residents turned up to the meeting to speak against the highly controversial process.

On the agenda, it stated that the town council should consider if it should offer land at Devizes Road, Hilperton, which the council owns, and land at Woodmarsh, North Bradley, which the council leases to Trowbridge Town FC, as sites suitable “for fracking license holders to utilise for their investigatory activities”.

However, councillors assured the public that it would not be supporting any land in Trowbridge being considered for fracking

and that the agenda item was the result of the town council’s suggestions for revisions to the town boundary being “ignored by Wiltshire Council”.

Trowbridge Town Council leader Bob Brice said: “This council does not permit any fracking activity now or in the future.”

The controversial process, which involves drilling into the earth to release shale gas, would be the first placed within Wiltshire if potential sites put forward are granted the appropriate licences.

MP for South West Wiltshire Andrew Murrison said: “I would be very surprised if it happens at all but I would not dismiss fracking.

“It would increase our national prosperity but we must ensure that safety is of paramount concern and so we have to be cautious.”