Investigative journalist and environmental writer. Specialising in UK onshore oil and gas, fracking and the reaction to it.
18th March 2014 The former Chief Constable of Sussex went into the witness box this morning to defend a notice he signed that required people at the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations to use a designated protest area. Martin Richards, who retired a week ago from Sussex Police, was giving […]
18th March 2014 The trial starts today of the first Balcombe resident to be arrested at last year’s anti-fracking protests outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in the village. Simon Welsh denies a charge under Section 14 of the Public Order Act of taking part in an assembly but […]
17th March 2014 Of the 900+ public responses to Cuadrilla’s planning application to flow test its exploratory oil well at Balcombe, 767 included a postcode. Of these, almost half (46%) were from the RH postcode area, which covers parts of Mid Sussex, Chichester, Horsham, Wealden and Lewes districts, […]
17th March 2014 Contamination of air and water, noise and traffic disturbance, and threats to local wildlife were the main issues raised by people objecting to Cuadrilla’s latest planning application at Balcombe. The public consultation by West Sussex County Council, which ended on March 13th, attracted 925 objections. Of […]
17th March 2014 Almost all the responses to the public consultation on Cuadrilla’s application to flow test its oil exploration well at Balcombe were objections. An analysis* of the comments by InvestigatingBalcombeAndCuadrilla.com found Key concerns were water and air pollution, traffic, noise and the impact on wildlife More […]
17th March 2014 Transcripts of last week’s parliamentary questions and statements on Noise from fracking Estimated UK energy from shale gas Stakeholder support for shale gas in Europe With thanks to theyworkforyou.com
14th March 2014 Staff from West Sussex County Council had weeks of negotiations with Cuadrilla’s planning consultant over what information should be included in the company’s application to flow test its well at Balcombe. The evidence emerged in the response to a Freedom of Information request by InvestigatingBalcomebAndCuadrilla.com […]
13th March 2014 The leader of West Sussex County Council should welcome a new campaign group, which held its first fundraising event last night. We need to talk about fracking is calling for a “genuinely independent, balanced and thorough public debate”. Last year, Louise Goldsmith twice asked the […]
13th March 2014 A group of wildlife and countryside organisations says current regulations for unconventional fossil fuel development are not strong enough to prevent damage and it calls for a permanent ban on fracking in all protected areas. The group, which includes National Trust, RSPB and the Wildlife […]
12th March 2014 An anti-fracking activist who climbed a 6m scaffolding tripod to block the road outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site at Balcombe was found guilty of obstructing the highway this afternoon. But the judge imposed the minimum penalty after hearing that Jamie Spiers had given up the […]
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