Investigative journalist and environmental writer. Specialising in UK onshore oil and gas, fracking and the reaction to it.
Balcombe Parish Council has posted a video of the first part of a meeting between villagers and the Environment Agency which discussed regulation at Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site. About 270 people attended the meeting, on October 9th, with more listening outside. At the meeting, the Environment Agency confirmed […]
One of the criticisms of hydraulic fracturing is that it uses large volumes of water. But how much is large? That’s not easy question to answer. Firstly, the volumes are expressed variously in imperial and US gallons, cubic metres and litres. Sometimes the figure is quoted is per […]
Balcombe Parish Council has delayed its village ballot on attitudes to oil exploration in the village because Cuadrilla’s latest planning application needs revision. West Sussex County Council has reported that Cuadrilla has not provided information needed to validate the application to test oil flow rates at its exploration […]
Dates for 12 more trials were set today for campaigners arrested in the summer’s anti-fracking protests outside the Cuadrilla oil exploration site at Balcombe. The MP Caroline Lucas and four other protestors will stand trial at Brighton Magistrates on March 24th next year, charged with obstructing the highway […]
Six anti-fracking protestors who locked themselves to a fire engine outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site at Balcombe became the first people to be convicted following this summer’s protests. But a district judge at Crawley Magistrates Court today accepted they were acting according to their beliefs and conditionally discharged […]
The Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, accused the government of being the flag-waver-in-chief for the fracking industry, after she appeared in court on charges following a protest at Cuadrilla’s site near Balcombe. In a statement made outside Crawley Magistrates Court, she said ministers were ignoring warnings on the […]
When the energy company SSE put prices up last week by an average of 8.2%, it blamed, among other things, government-imposed green levies collected through gas and electricity bills. Three days later, the company told the FT that government green energy policies would put up bills by £26 […]
Anti-fracking campaigners from Balcombe are taking their musical protest to London on Sunday (October 20th). During the summer, villagers organised three Belt It Out Balcombe singalongs to voice their opposition in song to Cuadrilla’s exploration for oil. The London event, described as “Singing a new World into being”, is part […]
Balcombe Parish Council is to ballot villagers on their opinion on future oil and gas exploration in the area. The ballot, to be run by Electoral Reform Services, will inform the council’s future policy on exploration and extraction. It aims to collect opinions on: Cuadrilla’s application for planning […]
Last week, the European Parliament voted by 354 votes to 300 to extend compulsory Environmental Impact Assessments to hydraulic fracturing operations. The vote among UK MEPs was 29 in favour and 32 against. 8 UK MEPs were absent and 4 didn’t vote. Most […]
DRILL OR DROP? 