Campaigners from across the UK gathered outside Cuadrilla’s shale gas site near Blackpool for a demonstration today in support of food growing and against fracking.
The rally, with music, dancing, food and speeches, closed the Preston New Road site for most of the day.
Fracking opponents came from as far as away as Torquay and Somerset. Many were organised for a long day at the roadside, with picnic chairs, sandwiches, suncream and umbrellas.
The event was co-ordinated by Reclaim the Power, a national group behind this month’s Rolling Resistance, which has seen almost daily lock-on protests at the site.
Photo: Reclaim the Power
Local anti-fracking campaigner, Tina Rothery, said:
“We don’t need lock-ons. We just need numbers”.
A police officer on duty at the site said:
“If you get everyone out like this every day we would not stand a chance.”
Alan Schofield, chair of the Organic Growers Alliance. Photo: Reclaim the Power
Alan Schofield, a Lancashire market gardener and chair of the Organic Growers Alliance told the crowd:
“The most important thing is that those gates are shut.”
“We are the people, together we are strong.”
He said:
“We’re not fighting something that should be allowed. We’re here protecting mother earth.
“We’re protecting by educating and informing people and there is a wonderful thing about knowledge that once you’ve learned something you cannot unlearn it, you cannot un-know it. You, you can ignore it but ignore it at your peril”.
Another speaker, Fi Radford, of Grandparents for a Safe Earth, said:
“I will fight this until my last breath”.
Photo: Reclaim the Power
The atmosphere at the site was notably more relaxed than on Thursday (20 July 2017), when 10 people were arrested.
Today one carriageway of Preston New Road remained closed during the rally and a contraflow operated. . There were reports of at least one arrest at the start of the day. This post will be updated with information from Lancashire Police.
Reporting for this post was made possible by individual donations to DrillOrDrop. You can donate by clicking here
Categories: Opposition
DRILL OR DROP? 
What a lot of vegetables!
Martin – don’t be bitter – even aubergines aren’t these days love.
Yes, they’re wonderful!!!
Is common sense finally winning. I really hope so.
They think their organic vegetables will save the uk trade deficit and national debt. Organic vegetables is overhyped in their claim of nutrients values they are the same as other farming product. They just hype up their organic credentials to put down other farming products and make the public pay more for their green dream.
I say, yes to Kale and yes to Shale. Why live in a glass half full world?
The protesters do not look like real farmers, it was a propaganda stunt by Reclaim the Power. They most likely just said they were farmers, notice who the spokes persons were…..I would like to see how many ordinary farmers were actually in attendance as the majority of people present were the usual recognisable faces from across the country. Generally speaking farmers deal with such a lot of BS in their working lives that they don’t care to listen to it.
Well said Lorraine. I have been involved in agriculture all my life and the vast majority of farmers would bend over backwards to earn a steady income from an energy company-whether it be oil/gas/wind turbines or solar, because they pay more for the land than the public will pay for their agricultural produce-perhaps Ruth could have added a little price summary from the local supermarket?
The sort of stunts now featuring at PNR are entertainment, but will not shape public opinion. It does keep some going, but we all know the main events will proceed, and this will be remembered as a Swampy time-entertainment, inconvenient but pointless.
“Came from as far away as Torquay and Somerset”. The how might be more interesting than the why.
Fossil fuels were used of course. It has to be the most ludicrous statement ever when people say ‘keep it in the ground’. Not for one minute do they practise the reality of not using any fossil fuels in their lives. It is the same as at the KM protest camp in Ryedale, the hypocrisy eludes them that while they campaign against gas, they use it continually in the camp to cook and no doubt to keep warm in the caravans that some of these hardened eco warriors use to live in….
Pro frackers completely out of touch with how renewable s are rapidly developing.
Shell and BHP Billiton, plus Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the investment manager Blackrock and the green thinktank the European Climate Foundation state,
By 2035, wind and solar could provide 98% of power in developed countries such as Germany and the UK, with gas power stations or batteries providing backup.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/25/uk-windfarm-subsidies-ban-cheap-energy-electricity.
So yes, ‘keep it in the ground’ as we have plenty of fossil fuels to see us through the transitional period.
‘not using any fossil fuels in their lives’ Ridiculous statement but expected.
Wind power battery storage making it’s first appearance. ‘ Game changer’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/06/07/dong-energy-plugs-offshore-wind-farm-world-first-battery-system/
CCS nowhere in sight.
UK shale missed the boat years ago. Archaic and pointless.
Could but wont. Is this why Shell is getting into shale gas big time?
‘Oil and gas giant Shell is not tempted by fracking in Britian’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/rdsb/10948157/Shell-sails-ahead-without-UK-shale.html
2014 article.
Since then oil prices have dropped, renewable s have become much cheaper, and climate change has become a global priority.
Shell keeping up with the times with cheap wind power.
“That brings the Government’s aim for renewables to compete with fossil fuels without subsidy within reach”
http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1418517/shell-consortium-wins-borssele-iii-iv-%E2%82%AC5450-mwh
Around the world
Shell started producing tight gas in the early 1950s in south Texas. Today we produce enough natural gas in North America to meet the energy needs of millions of homes. We are also exploring for tight oil and gas in locations in the USA, Canada, and Argentina.
Read more about tight and shale gas in the Americas – opens on our US website
Building on our experience in North America, we are developing tight and shale gas operations globally.
In China, we produce enough tight gas a year at the Changbei field to provide power for 12.5 million homes, and we are exploring for more resources in other parts of the country. Other developments include in South Africa and, together with Exxon Mobil, in the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany.
In Australia we acquired Arrow Energy in 2010 in a joint deal with PetroChina, to produce another form of tight gas called coalbed methane – natural gas found in coal seams.
We also have agreements with the state gas production company Ukrgasvydobuvannia in Ukraine to jointly explore and produce tight gas in Eastern Ukraine, and to develop the approximately 8,000 km² Yuzivska field in the same area.
EU Renewable share in 2015.
Keep scrolling down. We are there. Pathetic attempt by short sited backward thinking UK Government.
Strangle solar and onshore wind. Ridiculous, and costly in the long run.
Sweden 54.1%
Finland 39.5%
Latvia 39.2%
Austria 33.6%
Denmark 30.6%
Estonia 27.9%
Portugal 27.8%
Croatia 27.5%
Romania 24.7%
Lithuania 24.3%
Slovenia 21.8%
Bulgaria 18.4%
Italy 17.1%
EU average: 16,4%
Spain 15.6%
Greece 15.5%
France 14.5%
Germany 14.5%
Czech 13.6%
Slovakia 11.9%
20, Poland 11.8%
Hungary 9.4%
Cyprus 9.1%
Ireland 9%
UK 8.2%
Belgium 7,.3%
Netherlands 6%
Malta 5.3%
Luxemburg 5%
‘Renewable energy is now cost-competitive and sometimes cheaper than fossil fuels’
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/uk-ranked-24-out-of-28-eu-member-states-renewable-energy-wind-farms-fossil-fuels-solar-panels-a7559376.html
Thanks for your comment about aubergines refracktion. Quite apt, total waste of space. I grow most of my own vegetables and would not give them house (or greenhouse) room. I’ll willing leave them to the metropolitan liberal set, to chat over around their exotic Greek holiday agenda.
Brilliant – look after mammy earth / its were our food is grown. And as for organic food – once you know the vast array of chemicals sprayed on masses of crops you go organic as much as poss. The agri-chemical corps just wanna keep making ££$$€€
Organic farming and anti-frack protesting are made for each other. You see, they are each a bit of a hoax, built upon faulty science that allows adherents to feel they’ve achieved some sort of moral high ground. The sad reality is, however, that if each of these movements became the dominant mode of practice the world would see strife and bloodshed like never before. Large portions of the population would have to die for these strategies to succeed.
I enjoy organic foods. I am wealthy enough to afford the luxury. I even believe that some organic foods may be slightly better for me. But most of the world’s population can’t afford to eat organically. And “organic” is a bit of a myth. The fertilizers used in organic farming originate from synthetic sources (ie they rely on natural gas) http://csanr.wsu.edu/organic-ag-synthetic-nitrogen/ Because of a sizable yield gap as compared to non-organic farming, if we were to turn all farms organic tomorrow, vast portions of the world would go unfed and die. The rich countries would probably survive, but I can’t see how wars would be avoided.
Anti-frack, keep it in the ground protesters parallel the organic movement in their lack of understanding for the pain and suffering that their policies would cause if enacted. If we were to keep all hydrocarbons in the ground starting tomorrow, large swathes of the world would perish over the next several years due to the lack of reliable energy. The same would be true thirty years from now. No existing technology will allow renewables to provide for all of society’s needs, in an economic fashion, during this timeframe. Renewable power is a luxury good, like organic produce. Wealthy nations can enjoy these products and unburden themselves from a smidge of guilt they feel from their over-consumption. But neither organic farming or KIITG can become mainstream because they would kill too many people if they did.
Very good analogy Fib. They are very similar in their bs ideologies. Claim to save the world but in fact kill the majority who cant afford it. And done it with a hidden agenda that is overinflated price for organic products and high government subsidy for renewables. And both of their products only benefits the rich who own lands and can afford it.