The communities secretary, Greg Clark, says “no one benefits from uncertainty caused by delays in planning decisions” (Act quickly on fracking or we will, ministers tell councils, 13 August). Quite right. Will he now have a word with his colleagues in Defra who have so far spent 23 months considering an inspector’s report on whether to extend the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks? It is perhaps understandable that hard-pressed local authority planning departments struggle with fracking applications. They are hugely controversial and raise serious issues of public safety, water contamination, traffic movement and much else. It is much less clear why the government has sat on its hands on the Lakes-Dales extension, which is supported by local people and has clear economic and social benefits.
Shaun Spiers
Chief executive, Campaign to Protect Rural England
• The Canadian government’s reckless determination to promote tar sands oil (Canada’s tar sands landscape from the air – in pictures, theguardian.com, 3 August) has worldwide consequences. Tar sands development has destroyed huge swaths of Alberta’s boreal ecosystem and the health and economy of indigenous communities.