OVER Wyre's anti-Canatxx gas store campaigners have had a vital part of their argument against the plans taken away by Britain's insurance bosses.
People opposed to the multimillion pound gas store scheme for the River Wyre near Preesall and Stalmine claimed home insurance premiums nearby will rocket, or that homes may even be uninsurable if the Canatxx plans are approved.
But talks between C
anatxx and the Association of British Insurers prompted the ABI to issue a statement dismissing these claims.
They say a gas storage base in Over Wyre will have no impact
on household premiums.
In the statement, issued via Canatxx's PR company Gardant, the ABI, whose members provide 94% of domestic insurance services sold in the UK said: "The existence or otherwise of a gas storage facility in the locality would not be taken into account by household insurers when deciding whether to offer insurance to customers and what terms, conditions and premiums they would charge.
"Experience to date in the UK suggests underground gas storage facilities do not generate household insurance claims."
The spectre of higher premiums or companies refusing to cover homes in Over Wyre if the Canatxx proposal is approved has been raised at several public meetings since the Canatxx plans were first mooted.
? Canatxx has now submitted additional environmental and geological information to Lancashire County Council to support its current application.
The reports include analysis of recent bore hole tests in the Wyre estuary. including at Burrows Marsh.
The information is available for public inspection at the county planning offices in Preston, and on Canatxx's website at www.preesallapplication.org.uk/AdditionalEnvironmental.asp
No date has yet been decided for the county council's development control meeting which will decide the Canatxx application.
Wyre Council has already urged the authority to reject it.
