Fracking for fossil fuels will now be allowed under Britain’s national parks after the House of Commons voted to change regulations around the controversial procedure.
The change will also allow the industrial process to be conducted below UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Stonehenge were shale gas ever found there. Regulations were also relaxed around drinking water aquifiers.
MPs approved the new rules by 298 votes to 261, which allow drilling to be started outside the protected areas but to continue underneath them.
The Government said the rules will kick-start the fossil fuel industry but would protect the UK’s environment and people living in it.
Fracking is a specialised process usually used to extract shale gas and some oil deposits, which are difficult to extract through conventional drilling procedures.
Campaigners have complained the method has negative effects on nearby communities, including disputed claimed about its effect on drinking water.
In January of this year MPs rejected a Labour proposal for a moratorium on fracking until 13 new conditions were met.
At the time ministers pledged an “outright ban” on fracking in national parks.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats criticised the limited time allowed to debate on the proposals.
Lisa Nandy, the opposition party’s shadow energy and climate change secretary, said: “It is frankly shabby of the Government to sneak through these weak fracking rules without any proper Parliamentary debate.
“Ministers had previously conceded that there should be the tougher safeguards that Labour has been calling for to protect drinking water sources and sensitive parts of our countryside like National Parks. Now they've abandoned those promises.
“We should have a moratorium on fracking in Britain until we can be sure it is safe and won't present intolerable risks to our environment.
“Neither MPs or the public have received these assurances yet ministers are ignoring people's legitimate concerns and imposing fracking on communities.”
Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: “The UK has one of the best track records in the world for protecting our environment while developing our industries - these regulations will get this vital industry moving while protecting our environment and people.
“Yesterday's Task Force for Shale Gas report confirmed exactly what we have been saying for some time - that with the right standards in place fracking can take place safely.”
