Dame Helen Ghosh, director general of the National Trust, has said that she is prepared to consider fracking on land owned by the charity, contradicting the Trust’s reiteration today that it has a “presumption against fracking”.

In an interview with The Times today, Ghosh said that she is keeping an “open mind” on drilling for the gas and that the impact of fracking on the environment is still unknown.

In the summer, the Trust released a statement on its website saying it was against fracking because “natural gas is a fossil gas”.

The National Trust is tweeting this statement repeatedly today from @nationaltrust, but this has not stopped several members tweeting that they plan to cancel their membership in light of Dame Helen's comments. 

She said: “We all have yet to see what the surface environmental impact of fracking is and when we have seen it then we would reach a view about whether [we would object to it] adjacent to National Trust land or on National Trust land. We are waiting for the evidence. We have an open mind.”

Dame Helen did say she was concerned that fracking could lead to a reliance on fossil fuels, but added: “I’m not saying we will never allow fracking on our land."

There is already a petition online calling for Dame Helen Ghosh's resignation from the National Trust. 

Christian Aid campaign against fracking

This stance differs significantly from that of Christian Aid, who is actively against fracking. The charity is supporting a petition by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, of which it is a member, to “put the brakes on fracking”.

Fracking, another term for hydraulic fracturing, is the process of drilling down into the earth before blasting water and chemicals into rock to extract gas embedded in shale deposits. The process has been used extensively in the US and has led to concerns that it is adversely impacting the environment.

Ghosh did however rule out the possibility of wind farms on land owned by the National Trust. She said: "I think it is unlikely that we would ever promote or allow a wind farm on our land."

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas told civilsociety.co.uk that she was disappointed with Ghosh's stance on fracking: "We already know widescale fracking is incompatible with meeting climate targets," she said. 

The National Trust did not respond to calls from civilsociety.co.uk.