UK Government Ministers could take over decision-making from local councils to speed up the planning process for fracking in England, under new measures announced today.

The Conservative Government has made clear it is going "all out for shale" but oil and gas companies keen to exploit the resource have come up against local opposition with councils turning down applications in potential shale gas areas such as Lancashire and Sussex.

Shale gas bids will now be fast-tracked through the planning process as part of efforts to drive development of the industry south of the border; these efforts have already prompted furious opposition from campaigners, who claim the dash for shale is riding "roughshod over democracy".

In Scotland, the SNP Government slapped a moratorium on all fracking in January, pending further research and consultation.

Under the new Whitehall measures, Greg Clark, the Communities Secretary, will actively consider "calling in" any application for shale gas exploration and extraction from local councils if they repeatedly take a lengthy period to make a decision.

Amber Rudd, the Energy Secretary, said: "We are backing the safe development of shale gas because it's good for jobs, giving hardworking people and their families more financial security, good for our energy security and part of our plan to decarbonise the economy.

"We need more secure, home-grown energy supplies and shale gas must play a part in that," she added.

It was stressed local communities would remain fully involved in planning decisions and that strong safety and environmental safeguards were already in place to ensure fracking was safe and only happened in appropriate places.

But Daisy Sands, Greenpeace’s head of energy campaign, said the new measures meant residents south of the border “could end up with virtually no say over whether their homes, communities and national parks are fracked or not”.

A spokeswoman for INEOS, which has licences to extract shale gas in Scotland, said the company welcomed the UK Government’s plan to "fast track shale gas planning applications whilst ensuring that local people continue to have a strong say on the development of shale gas exploration in their areas".

"This positive early action should help break the log jam that has developed in some areas of the country and give first mover advantage to those communities willing to quickly embrace the shale gas revolution," she said.