Cuadrilla’s shale gas site at Preston New Road, 10 August 2017. Photo: Roseacre Awareness Group
The shale gas company, Cuadrilla, announced today it had spent a total of £6.8m in the Lancashire economy in the past two years. But new figures show the cost of policing outside the company’s Preston New Road site near Blackpool reached almost £6m for a single year.
Source: Cuadrilla Resources
Releasing the latest data from its Putting Lancashire First tracker (above), Cuadrilla said in the final three months of 2017 it had spent more than £2m directly and indirectly in the county’s economy. In the same period, the figures show the company had taken on no new full-time employees but created an extra four contract or temporary jobs and one apprentice or internship.
Direct spending, at £1.92m in October-December 2017, was the highest quarterly figure recorded by Cuadrilla so far. This period coincided with continued drilling a vertical well and preparations for horizontal drilling. But during the same period, indirect spending – the money spent by Cuadrilla’s contractors with other Lancashire suppliers – was the lowest recorded.
Also in the final quarter of 2017, Cuadrilla’s figures show it had contributed £61,000 through the shale industry community benefit scheme, £7,000 in local sponsorships and £2,000 in local donations. An extra 29 businesses registered on the company’s supply chain portal.
Policing cost at Preston New Road reaches nearly £6m
New data from Lancashire Constabulary put the cost of policing operations at Preston New Road during 2017 at £5.919m.
There have been anti-fracking protests outside the site entrance since Cuadrilla began work in January 2017. The force said about 100 officers were directly involved each day in policing the operation. It said:
“As has been demonstrated a number of times when campaigners have carried out ‘lock ons’, it is essential to have the number of officers at the site that are currently allocated to the operation.”
Source: Lancashire Police
The latest policing data comprised:
- Officers plain time – cost of officers scheduled to work that day
- Officer overtime
- Non-staff costs – equipment, food, hire cars, welfare vans
- Mutual aid – spending on support from other forces
- Consequential costs – time off in lieu for officers working on the operation
Previous figures from Lancashire Police suggested the total cost in 2017 was just over £3m. But this figure comprised only overtime, non-staff costs and mutual aid. The latest data also included officer plain time and consequential costs. The force said:
“This is to provide further information and to ensure that we are being transparent as well as consistent with the information that we provide to the Home Office.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, Clive Grimshaw, has applied for special grant funding towards the cost of policing. On 12 January 2018, the Home Office Minister, Nick Hurd, said the application was being reviewed and a decision would be made “in due course”. DrillOrDrop report
According to the new data, police spending at Preston New Road from October-December 2017 was half that of July-September 2017 and the second lowest during the year.
During the final quarter of the year, 11 people were arrested and charged. Five of the charges were obstructing the highway, three under Section 241 of the Trades Union and Labour Relations Act, one for obstructing the police and two for what were classified by the police as other offences. See DrillOrDrop report on arrests throughout 2017.
Reaction
Cuadrilla’s chief executive, Francis Egan, said today:
“Having completed the vertical well through the Bowland shale, where we have acquired very useful data, and started drilling the first horizontal well into UK shale, we are delighted to demonstrate that Lancashire’s economy has benefited by almost £7m to date. Working with Lancashire suppliers remains a priority for us and we are grateful for their high-quality services and support and pleased we have also enabled the creation of so many local jobs.”
Frack Free Lancashire, a group opposed to Cuadrilla’s activities, said:
“From the outset we have seen that Cuadrilla’s claim to be putting Lancashire first has been a sham, with even the main contract for their pad construction going to a company outside the county. It is telling that after 12 months operating they now claim to have 10% less supply chain registrations than they had at the start of 2017, showing that local supply chain businesses are visibly underwhelmed by the claims that they are making.
“The real story here is that, based on the police’s own data, our estimate of the real full cost of the police force facilitating the fracking operations is twice what Cuadrilla claim to have spent in the local economy. Local people should be under no illusions. This industry will cost the community dearly if it is allowed to take hold and no amount of glossy PR handouts can paper over the cracks that are becoming more evident every day.”
Categories: Research
DRILL OR DROP? 
So, Cuadrilla is adding to the local economy, and paying out money to the local community. Meanwhile the antis are costing the local taxpayers their hard earned income and wasting tax that could be spent on other things.
Not such a great idea to publicise the cost of the policing, another good exhibit for the injunction to reduce the cost even further-although looking at the decline in the cost of policing recently it shows the steam has gone out of this already.
Martin, the data is published by Lancashire police, and was included in this piece as it is newsworthy.
No, Paul, it wasn’t inserted because it was newsworthy. The data came out many days ago, so to the extent it was newsworthy, you covered it at the time. It was simply inserted here in a lame attempt to throw cold water on Cuadrilla’s happy economic growth party. Do you honestly believe the junk that you write?
Peeny – “happy economic growth party”? Lancashire has a GVA of about £30 billion. I don’t think a spend of £6 million is much to party about 😂😂😂
There speaks another who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. How much would you price clean air, clean water and good health at Martin?
No Martin – the cost of facilitating this industry, after central government imposed it over the heads of our local council, is placing a huge burden on locals.
I’m sure the government will have factored in the likelihood of protest when they overruled local decision making, so it’s only fair that people from all over the country should shoulder the burden. After all I assume you want a sniff of any gas or taxation which may eventually accrue were they to be able to slash costs to a level that made domestic fracked gas competitive with imported LNG?
BTW don’t fool yourself that protest isn’t going to ramp up again when Cuadrilla get near fracking.
[Comments removed by moderator]
[Edited by moderator] 8 out of 1 UK homes are heated by gas. If the UK doesn’t produce natural gas we will have to buy it from the USA or Russia. Let Cuadrilla work the Lancashire sites and prove that fracking is safe or not, don’t do the UK down, we should be self-sufficient in the energy. The customers (You & I ) will purchase energy at the most competitive price and gas will beat wind turbines & solar produced electricity always. Think of the cost of converting all the infrastructure to electric supply to replace gas and the cost of converting each house to electric heating.
“If the UK doesn’t produce natural gas we will have to buy it from the USA or Russia”
With a name like ‘Gasman’ you would think you would have at least a basic understanding of the UK indigenous oil and gas industry.
Apparently not
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2017/3/7/uk-oil-gas-output-set-for-longest-expansion-in-two-decades
Hi John, the production of UK natural gas is falling, Approx 38 million therms in 2000 to 14 million therms in 2016, and predicted to drop further to 10 million by 2022., see https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjW4ouPzIHZAhVKQMAKHY9SAcMQFggxMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ogauthority.co.uk%2Fmedia%2F3391%2Foga-production-projections-february-2017.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2dzjwxxVQju07e3WSutG6m
Regards
Another gas man with a maths weak area: “8 out of 1 UK homes” 🙂
Hi Philip, you know I meant 8 out of 10 homes, I get frustrated by anti-fracking protesters and people who use gas for central heating complaining and stopping the development of this potential source of energy.
Gasman, you seem to be persuaded by a false choice. We all know we will continue to use gas for a period of time. You seem to have swallowed the line that it has to be UK shale gas. It doesn’t and indeed it won’t be unless they can get costs below imported LNG. After the economic factors there are of course all of the other social and environmental impacts to consider. Bottom line though is that the move to a low carbon future is something we need to do as a country or it won’t happen. Don’t get frustrated. Think!
If only there were a like button 😂
I don’t doubt it is “newsworthy” Paul. I was making a different point, which was justified by refracktion’s post. (Goodness, UK fracked gas going to reduce costs to consumers and generate taxation-another coming back from the dark-side!)
I suspect that Cuadrilla could now obtain an injunction prior to fracking without much trouble at all, and every newsworthy item about costs accruing to the local population from the actions of the antis and calls to recruit more activists ahead of April (more costs for the locals) will simply make that much easier. But, of course, Cuadrilla may not wish, or need, to go that route as they seemed to deal with all the bluster around preventing the rig being delivered without any problems.
Nuance not your strong suit is it Martin?
As much as I dislike the idea of generalizing or stereotyping people, this article brings me to a place where I must. I have found that as a class, anti-frackers have very little concept of accountability. You can hear it in the first paragraph of Ruth’s piece: “The shale gas company, Cuadrilla, announced today it had spent a total of £6.8m in the Lancashire economy in the past two years. BUT new figures show the cost of policing outside the company’s Preston New Road site near Blackpool reached almost £6m for a single year.” Notice the BUT – as if the policing costs are somehow attributable to Cuadrilla. Complete and utter lack of accountability – just as these people would be the first to point the finger at everyone else if the country went all out for renewables and people started dying by the thousands due to fuel poverty.
“As much as I dislike the idea of generalizing or stereotyping people”
Funniest thing you’ve ever posted Peeny. Honestly. 😂
Why do those that support go on the attack, make derogatory and personal comments? Very unpleasant and unnecessary. These comments are answered and before we know it the subject matter is lost.People that are opposed to fracking are part of the community and no doubt work and contribute to their community and the country in many different ways. Cuadrilla is by no means the only company contributing to the Lancashire economy and I suspect £6m may actually be a small amount overall. And whether we frack or not gas is imported from Norway and other countries. Whether LNG will be cheaper from the US will be down to market conditions. But with the progress of greener technology gas, even being used to heat buildings is a hurdle that will be overcome and many credible alternatives are already available and developing. Even the government has accepted this as they now seem to consider fracking a bonus rather than a necessity in terms of energy security. But it is only the Conservative government that see fracking as a bonus the opposition parties do not and there is huge public opposition.
When will you fracking supporters get it into your heads that shale gas, if it’s there, will not bring down the price of gas to us consumers, it will not go near the open market. Ineos are already importing it from the USA and have publicly stated that any shale that they produce will go straight to their chemical plants to make the plastic which is poisoning the worlds oceans.
Very well balance and well argued article.
So true the shale gas indusrty is its own worst enemy because of its slow process and financial transparency.
Environmental and technical issues become less of concerns or issues for UK shale gas industry. But it is the economic visibility and investor supporters are now its real problem.
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/3025614/more-shale-planning-fails-is-the-uk-backing-off-fracking
I should direct your comments to the locals who will be paying the 2018 police precept KatT. I suspect those who obtained some money from Cuadrilla might not be too concerned, whereas many others will be. I “enjoy” a police precept and am not worried about it to fight local crime but I would be concerned for it to be wasted on having to arrest hundreds of individuals who think they can flout the law at my expense. Mind you, company taxation could help to reduce my tax contribution. Ohh, hold on “gas is imported from Norway and other countries”. Who gathers the tax from that to pay for such things as policing? Norway and other countries. I don’t think they pass any of that onto the UK.
I think you will find the Tories see it as important as to how things are paid for, not because they are Tories but they have to manage the economy. The opposition doesn’t. That’s hardly new.
£6m may actually be a small amount overall-quite true. Let’s make it bigger.
‘ having to arrest hundreds of individuals who think they can flout the law at my expense’
Okay, Martin. Something you need to know. The country we live in (at the moment) still advocates free speech and the right to protest. This is supported by all members of parliament, whatever colour you wear.
Each member of the community pays in monies to the pot via direct or indirect taxes to support the many benefits we are entitled to as a citizen of the UK.
I am sorry, but you have a misconception that you actually have a ‘my’ in this, as do many who do not want perhaps to pay towards ‘your’ pension, or health care or right to travel the roads, call the police if you have problem, call in the EA when neighbours burn horse bedding to piss you off………
However, if we ever get to choose; I withdraw the spending of ‘my’ money on subsides to business who pay little or no UK taxes and a governance that does not listen or put the needs of its people first.