SIR — The latest round of fracking licences was revealed a few days before Christmas and there’s likely to be fierce opposition to the idea of fracking in sensitive areas of natural beauty – and near to Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

The fact that two licences to frack near nuclear reactors are being offered proves that the government and, presumably, their civil servants have lost their senses.

This will not only endanger the power station itself but damage the very fragile coastline.

The increased heavy traffic, added to the expected traffic for Hinkley C construction, will create impossible and dangerous conditions. Have these people seen our roads??The only explanation is greed for cheap, polluting energy, but in fact it takes almost as much energy to extract the shale oil as it gains and the entire industry is a giant Ponzi scheme to attract investment which will never pay back.

In the US the revenue from fracking is barely paying the interest on development loans.

Any available investment should be spent on clean, renewable energy production and energy efficiency, instead of this high risk production of climate changing fuel.

Cllr Maureen Smith,

Minehead Town Council.