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We employ a mixed-method approach to analyse four forms of formal public participation in decision-making on shale development in the UK – planning, environmental permitting, public consultation and dialogue workshops. We focus analytically on the kinds of issues that can be raised effectively in such processes and the scope for public influence. This focus is conceptually inspired by literatures on public participation from Science and Technology Studies and on energy infrastructure planning disputes, with our findings building on existing work on public participation in decision-making on UK shale development. We also conduct local community interviews in the Fylde, Lancashire, UK, in order to understand how these processes are viewed by those who have participated in them. We find that these formal participatory opportunities generally tightly restrict the types of issues that are open for discussion …