Sir, – Was it deliberate irony or just a happy coincidence that your report on the honour for the wonderful hay meadows near Muker, in Swaledale (D&S, July 4) appeared on the same page as the piece about the Public Health England report?

The coincidence certainly drew attention to the PHE’s silly recommendation that shale gas extraction by fracking be permitted in our national parks.

I found the fatuous assurance of Lord Smith, that the visual impact of fracking sites would be “very limited”

laughable. Any fracking site, be it in meadow or moorland, in the Dales National Park or the North Yorkshire Moors National Park would have a disastrous visual impact.

Lord Smith may try to reassure people that the risks of subsidence and the pollution of freshwater supplies are outweighed by the potential economic benefits of fracking, but he cannot argue that the visual impact of fracking sites in our national parks would be “very limited”.

Once the visual beauty of meadow or moorland is destroyed, it is gone forever.

Should any of your readers wish to reflect on this point, I would suggest that they read the short poem The Meadowlands, which may be found on the website: www.dalespoetry.co.uk

ALAN HARTLEY Thoralby, Leyburn.