TENS of thousands of pounds could be knocked off house prices if energy companies start fracking in Sussex.

Estate agents have predicted there could be a loss of property value of around 10% if the controversial gas extraction process is rolled out in the county.

Areas near to towns such as Balcombe and Wisborough Green have been pinpointed as potential sites for companies to carry out exploratory drilling which could lead to fracking. According to online property site Rightmove the average house price in West Sussex is £310,470 – so an impact of 10% could cost homeowners more than £31,000.

The average price of terraced properties in West Sussex in £255,803 and for flats the price is £179,100.

The report into the impact on house prices was commissioned by Greenpeace and carried out by marketing research agency Redshift Research.

The company interviewed 20 estate agents in Sussex and two thirds of them predicted an impact on property values in the area.

The government has previously stated there is no evidence fracking will affect house prices. Paul Bonett, director of Bonett’s Estate Agent, said so far this year there had been only two sales completed in Balcombe – the town at the centre of fracking protests in summer 2013.

He said: “Basically with property prices perception is everything and if there is a perception fracking is risky to house prices then fracking is risky to house prices.

“The other thing is we have to think of the much bigger picture. We make a big thing about property prices, we should look at the issue of fracking as a whole and think about it in a very broad sense.”

Louise Hutchins, Greenpeace UK energy campaigner, said: “With a highly uncertain election just days away, candidates will have a tough job persuading their constituents that fracking is worth all this pain for so little gain.

“No wonder over a thousand candidates from all parties have already promised to oppose this risky industry in their constituencies.”

A spokesman for Cuadrilla, one of the companies which has carried out test drilling in Sussex, said: “A recent analysis conducted by JLL, one of the UK’s largest estate agents, found that house prices actually performed better in areas around actual drilling operations in the North West of England (two sites that have involved hydraulic fracturing) than the surrounding areas. Oil and gas have been extracted onshore in the UK for over 100 years and there has been no evidence to suggest any negative house price implications.”