Proposals could go ahead to drill boreholes on farmland off the Sandwich bypass in the hope of finding onshore gas reserves.

On Tuesday at the county council’s planning meeting officers are recommending the application from Coastal Oil and Gas, based in Bridgend, be approved.

Protesters from Deal will be attending the meeting at County Hall, Maidstone and, since the plans were revealed in June, the green group Deal With It has been campaigning against the project.

Members of the group were in Deal town centre at the weekend giving away leaflets, and they will be in the High Street again on Saturday.

Deal With It co-ordinator Rosemary Rechter said: "A similar application in the Vale of Glamorgan by Coastal Oil and Gas was unanimously thrown out in October when the local authority voiced fears of contamination of the water aquifers.

"To state the obvious, Wales has a lot of water. East Kent is one of the most arid places in the country.

"Water is key to our communities, local economy and rural life.

"We should not be taking the risk, especially as our county has so much potential for renewable energy."

* For more details check the Deal With It website at www.dealwithit.org, or contact by email fracking@
dealwithit.org

* For full story see the East Kent Mercury, December 1.