In this guest post, Lancashire resident Barbara Richardson explains her frustration that the energy minister won’t meet local people to listen to their concerns about fracking.
I spent this weekend making my fourth attempt to invite the energy minister, Claire Perry, to meet a small group of people who live in my village of Roseacre.
We’d like to explain what we think are genuine concerns about the effects that fracking could have on our homes, some of which are only 300m metres away from Cuadrilla’s proposed shale gas site at Roseacre Wood.
Ms Perry has said she intends to talk to communities about their concerns about shale gas.
So I’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with someone, anyone, from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
But so far, I’ve not had a single acknowledgement of my correspondence nor any response to my invitations.
Roseacre is one of only three communities in England where fracking is either happening or formally planned. Yet we have not had a single approach from Ms Perry, or her predecessors, or other ministers in the department, or their officials.
We have lived with the prospect of fracking near our homes for nearly five years. Fracking is already happening at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site about five miles from our village. We could have a fracking site much closer if Cuadrilla is granted planning permission for its Roseacre Wood site.
Having watched closely what has happened at Preston New Road, we now know what a fracking site looks like. It is a large industrial facility that is totally out of keeping with our rural landscape.
We also know there would be over 15,000 movements of heavy goods vehicles routed along our narrow and winding country lanes. Some of these vehicles would be the very largest six-axle, 44-tonne HGVs. Sometimes they are likely to be travelling in convoys overnight.
Based on the recent Preston New Road experience, we know that there are likely to be multiple earth tremors.
“We’re not the minister’s shouty travelling circus”
Members of Roseacre Awareness Group, which I chair, think these are legitimate concerns and we want Ms Perry to understand better why communities like ours are so anxious.
We are not the “shouty travelling circus of protesters” described by the minister during a parliamentary debate. Nor are we nimbies, scaremongers or ill-informed.
We are well-educated, rational members of the public who have researched shale gas exploration in our own time.
I have represented people living near Roseacre for four-and-half years. I have presented evidence at two public inquiries on behalf of residents’ groups and seven town and parish councils. This cost our community thousands of hours of work and tens of thousands of pounds in fees.
I have also presented the evidence-based case of Roseacre Awareness Group to two parliamentary groups and attended the Paris Climate Change talks.
I feel that our community’s voice deserves to be heard. But so far, no one in government has been willing to listen.
Last month, the government’s newly appointed shale gas minister, Natascha Engel, visited North Yorkshire, where no fracking is taking place.
If the minister won’t talk to us, we feel the very least we deserve is the courtesy of a meeting with the shale gas commissioner.
I wrote to her but, like the minister, she did not acknowledge my correspondence or respond to my invitation.
I have offered to meet the minister or Ms Engel anywhere and at any time to suit their convenience.
People in Roseacre know that the minister made time for a round-table meeting with the shale gas industry in the spring.
We hope Ms Perry and Ms Engel will treat our latest invitations with respect and take time to meet us too.
Categories: Opposition
DRILL OR DROP? 
It’s because she knows very little about fracking and all she does is repeat soundbites fed to her by the oil and gas industry. If she were to sit down with Lancashire residents, who have spent years researching this topic and have read all the relevant research, she would be shown up as what she is – simply a mouthpiece for the fracking industry.
Sorry Ellie, that’s a bit rich coming from you! ‘Knows nothing about fracking’. (Tee hee). Ms Perry knows about what misinformation that the antis work with. Non existent pollution/health/enviro issues.
1000 rigs drilling 10 wells a year in the US and not a single significant enviro issue? Health improves as coal is not being used anymore, and so on. You wrote about fracking regulation. These are the regulations. Please read them and advise where their are falling short…. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545924/LIT_10495.pdf
Truly the Russians have done their work well, getting Europe by the ba@@s. https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/06_29_2017%20CLS%20%26%20Weber%20-%20Mnuchin.pdf
Agree with Ellie. She wouldn’t have civil servants behind her passing her (selectively chosen) notes as she did at Lee Rowley’s debate. She will sit down with the industry though because they won’t challenge the myths that she propounds because they come from the industry! To hear a government minister using the language she does when referring to those who do not share her views beggars belief! To describe residents of affected communities who show fantastic support for each other in this fight and who have spent years researching the potential effects of fracking as a “Travelling Circus” is an absolute disgrace. However, it probably sums up the extent of her “knowledge”?
The Mythbuster happens to be 100% correct Maureen. Sorry, its not regurgitating the industry line. They are all factual, and backed up be regulation. If you dont think that then you have been to too many anti frack propaganda meetings!
Myth 1. We dont use gas? Really? Well I do.
Myth 2. The CCC have said that fracking is incompatible with climate change? Please advise where.
Myth 3 A couple of hectares every 5km is industrialisation? Hmmmm? Better not get wind farms or biodigesters in then…
Myth 4. PNR is really noisy is it? (No)
Myth 5. Water will be polluted? Er… where and how?? So the EA know nothing?
and so on.
Mrs Perry. People are trying to wake you up. Suggest you shake off your political and industry minders and visit the Lancashire guinea pigs at Preston New Road, like other politicians have done already.
If geological instability isn’t enough to make you want to stop this shale gas fracking, then look ahead.
If there is any gas to be extracted at commercial quantities then there has to be wholesale takeover of the countryside. Land clearances cannot be avoided. Not only thousands of wells and many new roads, but also vast networks of gathering pipelines, hundreds of gas processing plants, compressor stations and storage sites.
Is this the fast track development you want?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKYtOLd7Axk&feature=youtu.be
All a great risk to the public.
Oh Ken! Is that the best you can manage? That mythbuster of hers is an embarrassment.
http://www.refracktion.com/index.php/infinite-regression-busting-the-myth-busting/
Claire Pruitt and Natashale Engel are too busy meeting with the fossil fuel industry to listen to local community concerns.
The fact that Claire Perry’s so-called ‘fracking myth buster’ document contains word-for-word sentences lifted from the UKOOG website, with cited references also to the UKOOG site, shows that she is happy to just be a mouthpiece for the industry. Some of these ‘myths’ were debunked years ago, yet she is happy to trot them out regardless, and then change them when she is caught out by the reality on (or under) the ground. No wonder she commands so little respect, even within her own party.
I’m surprised there are no comments from the pro-fracking [edited by moderator] yet. Aren’t they paid to work on Sundays?
Give them time Ellie. They will just be agreeing how best to besmirch our reputation!
So if anyone posts in favour they are ‘[edited by moderator]’ and ‘paid are they Ellie? Hmmm See above.
Hi Barbara,
Why not ask our MP Mark Menzies to help arrange a meeting for you?
He was very definitely noisy in the Lytham St Anne’s Express just recently!
Maybe you could all do a sit down together with Mike Hill inside the Protestant Pen to keep you safe from passing traffic and trolls?
Maybe you could ask the nice man from the Blackpool Gazette along as well. Not Tim Gavell but the nice one who wrote the front page and inside page about how bad fracking is, Michael Holmes?
Lived in Elswick for 19 years … still mentally support the locality. That was 28 years ago and since then I’ve gained more experience in local politics and getting results. I agree with all comments so far and think Peter Roberts’ suggestion is excellent. Picking the most sympathetic local MP has worked well for me. Very best of luck!
I suggest “shouty MP” is probably a good description for Ms Perry, having seen her in action at the recent parliamentary debate on the subject. Seems to be a common trait amongst Tory MPs. Being unable to counter our intelligent,knowledgeable responses in a rational manner, they simply raise their voices in an attempt to shout us down. This approach also seems to apply to the pro frackers who frequently post clearly stupid comments on this website. Just ignore.
Perry. Not the fizziest drink in the fridge.
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Barbara Richardson explains her frustration that the energy minister won’t meet local people to listen to their concerns about fracking.