That is how a key campaigner who battled controversial gas storage plans close to Fleetwood has dismissed news of a fresh gas move.

Canatxx's original bid to store 1.2 million tonnes of natural gas in salt caverns under the River Wyre at Preesall were quashed last year by minister Hazel Blears following a public inquiry.

There had been massive opposition to the plans, including 11,000 objections, and it emerged that the planning inspector's report was overwhelmingly damning of the gas plans on safety and environmental grounds.

Now Canatxx has, surprisingly, announced it is to try again with another application, much to the concern of residents in Fleetwood and other areas of Wyre.

The gas company says it is just three months away from a new application to provide 20 per cent of the UK's gas storage capacity in Wyre.

However, Ian Mulroy, a leading campaigner of the Protect Wyre Group, said: "Basically, until Canatxx start talking to Lancashire County Council planners and until they undertake detailed and costly investigations into the ground conditions right across the site, I can only think their new announcement is a lot of hot air."

Mr Mulroy said the original planning inquiry report was so critical of the original Canatxx proposals it didn't seen feasible there was a way back.

Canatxx chief executive Paul Grimes said: "The original application contained good science. We will be adding to that science to answer some of the questions raised at the inquiry."


He said Canatxx would, this time, scale down the above-ground aspects of the site and would preserve and invest in the local environment, and give most of the 35 site jobs to locals.

Mr Grimes expected the new plans to be submitted to County Hall by September and believed the £300m scheme could be operational by 2011.

Action For Fleetwood Group vice chairman Ron Allen said: "They have got their answer - we just don't want it here."