Campaigner and researcher, Helen Chuntso, outside Cuadrilla’s shale gas site at Preston New Road, 5 October 2018. Photo: Bob Dennett
A High Court judge has ruled that fracking should not take place at Cuadrilla’s shale gas site near Blackpool until a hearing next week.
Mrs Justice Farbey signed an interim injunction order for the Preston New Road site to last until the case comes to court, likely to be in London on Wednesday 10 October.
The order said:
“Cuadrilla Bowland Ltd must desist from carrying out any hydraulic fracturing operations at the Preston New Road site (including oil/gas wells designated PNR-1z or PNR2) until the hearing has taken place.”
Yesterday, Lytham anti-fracking campaigner Bob Dennett applied to the court for an emergency injunction and judicial review of emergency planning procedures at the site (DrillOrDrop report). He said he feared the authorities had failed to protect local people from emergencies at the site.
Speaking outside Preston New Road this morning, Mr Dennett, told DrillOrDrop:
“This is absolutely fantastic news. I am ecstatic.
“As a result of our action yesterday, Cuadrilla put out a press release this morning and they have invited television news on to their site to keep journalists away from us.”
Cuadrilla said yesterday it was aware of the injunction application and described it as a “last ditch attempt at delaying our efforts to find a new source of much-needed natural gas for the UK which is a national imperative.”
But Mr Dennett said today:
“They have accused us of a cynical attempt to prevent them from fracking. But they are the ones that are cynical by doing this today.”
Bob Dennett and fellow campaigner, Helen Chuntso, outside Preston New Road on 4 October 2018.
This morning, Cuadrilla announced that fracking on the first horizontal well at the site would begin in a week. DrillOrDrop report
The company is taking some journalists on tours of the site today.
A statement by Cuadrilla this afternoon said:
“We understand the hearing about whether an interim injunction should be granted has been set for the middle of next week and we should not start hydraulic fracturing operations before then, which we were not planning to do in any event.”
Mr Dennett’s case has been brought against Lancashire County Council, the co-ordinator of the local resilience forum (LRF), which is responsible for emergency planning.
He is seeking a judicial review of what he says is the failure of the county council “properly to manage and regulate the environmental and health and safety risks to the local community arising from the shale gas fracking operations by Cuadrilla at the Preston New Road shale gas fracking site”.
Mr Dennett said there appeared to “no specific and robust plans for the evacuation of local residents, in particular children attending the 15 schools in the vicinity of the site.”
He said today:
“If I had all the emergency procedure documents in place I would have released them all months ago to the community to prove I had its best interests at heart.
“Lancashire County Council has refused to do this. This raises questions over whether they have the right processes in place.”
The court order gives Cuadrilla, the county council and other regulators the opportunity to vary or discharge the order at 24 hours’ notice. Evidence to be put before the court must be submitted by Monday afternoon.
Liz Hutchins, director of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said:
“The environmental risks of fracking are well-documented and issues regarding safety at the Preston New Road site have been raised before.
“It’s right that local people continue to highlight these concerns, through the courts if necessary.
“Fracking has already been stopped in Scotland, Wales, & Northern Ireland because of the risks. Fracking is bad news for our climate, environment and local people: when is the government going to wake-up and realise it’s backed the wrong horse?”
Categories: Legal
DRILL OR DROP? 
Oh how I enjoy this Martin Collier now we see that two can play that game .
Well done Helen and Bob; now let’s see what they have in place to protect the residents.
Sherwulfe , if they had a plan they would have produced it before now , I hope they like the boot on the other foot .
Cuadrilla can present all the other sites where they have carried out developments like PNR to show how safe and responsible they are.
Of course they would have to have actually fracked a similar site
No experience equals high risk.
That’s how the court will see it.
If they break their injunction and touch any of their equipment they should have their assets seized. Call the police if they are doing any work on the site that is not necessary for safety. Photos, drone footage useful.
It plays both ways
Well done Helen and Bob
I wonder if they were thinking of fracking before next week to avoid attention. If they were now they can’t.
This could be it for the industry; even if they have a ‘plan’, can it be implemented at a moments notice with the emergency services on their knees due to austerity cuts? I think not.
Sherwulfe
I am not sure that the Emergency services are on their knees due to austerity cuts, although they may not be as comfortably funded as before. They seem to be overworked in the non ER bits of the job ( according to those I know ).
What would stretch them is multiple events, or such an event during extreme weather. In this case it would be interesting to see the adverse weather part of the Cuadrilla ER plans ( meat and potatoes to offshore oil and gas operations, in ER plans and permits )
By the by, Buncefield comes to mind as the last large fossil fuel event to test the Emergency services in a large way. I note that in a linked DOD report Grenfell was referred to, but that is not a good example for comparison ( should anyone be interested to know why).
[Comment corrected at poster’s request]
hewes….
5 hour wait for a blue light emergency [own experience]; 1/3 of all vacancies in NHS not being filled; police pay cut [real time] by over £4000 pa [radio 4 today]; staffing levels(police) all time low [conversation with police officer last week ‘sometimes we don’t have anyone left to man the station’…..].
If our services cannot man the day-to-day, then how so a major additional emergency?
Jono
In the report above, the absence of plans is put at the door of the County Council, not Cuadrilla I see.
Now, let’s think about it.
Does LCC have a plan ( which involves the three blue light services ) to evacuate residents for the various emergencies that can occur in the county?
Those against fracking say they do not.
The council say they have but so not wish to share it.
An example of a complete absence of ER capability by the three blue light services would be good evidence that, although there is an organisation in place to deal with such events ( be it a petrol station going up in smoke for example ), when one has occurred there was no response.
So we shall see how it goes.
It may well be right that there are no specific plans to evacuate personnel, as they are fine as generic plans for the events that may occur?
In addition a fair chunk of Lancashire residents will know all about the plans ( unless all blue light personnel operating in Lancashire live outside the county ).
[Comments removed by moderator
All that persistent work by Helen Chuntso and Bob Dennett has paid off. Respect and grateful thanks from an out of area supporter.
.
The sad truth of the matter is that we, the people, have to go to court to make sure that our own Councils, HSE and EA are doing their job when it comes to the regulation of this dirty, heavy industry that is being forced on us.
[Edited by moderator] Safety has to be front and centre.. can the residents be expected to blindly trust the Company who caused the earthquakes in 2011..and tried to cover it up? I wouldn’t!
[Edited by moderator] Bob, Helen and Ben have done a brilliant job and get my full support, solidarity with them!
Dianna
In this case it seems about trusting the council, police, fire brigade and police, not Cuadrilla.
Lol. Cuadrilla looks very awkward now.
Think you will find Jono this will have no impact whatsoever.
Nice interview by Sky. Few more PR sessions and then clear the decks around this time next week.
‘Think you will find Jono this will have no impact whatsoever.’ – so stopping the schedule is no impact whatsoever?
Unlikely Cuadrilla will be fracking next week as announced in the press……..
And if the plan is not deemed sufficient [if there is a plan at all?]………
The Sky news was quickly out of date Martin , they even had to show footage of Balcombe which is not even a gas site , this is our time to fight back and unless Cudrilla have a very good set of emergency plans they will not be able to frack , impact ? its already had the impact that was required .
Brilliant turn of events. This should make the dirty poisoning frackers squirm a bit. Well done Bob and Helen
Yes, I noticed that photo Jono. Nothing unusual in that either for Sky or BBC.
Why has the schedule been stopped, Sherwulfe? Have you any proof of that, or wishful thinking?
I believe within the next week was the indication. The FBI can do a whole investigation in that time. Jumping the gun a little maybe?
‘Cuadrilla confirmed it will start working on a well in Lancashire within days’ Guardian today at 10.29 – injunction says no
Next…
I don’t suppose that Sky news was trying to compare PRN to the Balcombe site with nothing but a box over the wellhead ? That would be really quite naughty wouldn’t it ? After all they had a crew at PNR for the interview.