Reporting the prosecutions of campaigners arrested at protests against the exploitation of unconventional oil and gas
The trial got underway this morning (7/1/14) of the first group of campaigners arrested at anti-fracking protests in Balcombe last year. Three women and eight men are charged with obstructing the highway outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site on July 26th. They all deny the charge. The case is […]
The trial is due to begin today (7/1/14) of the first people arrested at the protests against Cuadrilla’s oil exploration operation in Balcombe. Eleven environmental campaigners were arrested on July 26th 2013, the second day of the blockade of Cuadrilla’s site at Lower Stumble. They are all charged […]
The defence solicitor in a court case arising from the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations said today the law should be applied consistently to all the protestors who were arrested. Shahida Begum was speaking during the trial of Nick Ward, an environmental campaigner from Cambridge, who was arrested at Cuadrilla’s […]
The anti-fracking trial involving Natalie Hynde, daughter of the Pretender’s singer Chrissie Hynde, and Ray Davies, of The Kinks, was adjourned today without any evidence being heard. Ms Hynde denies trespassing on railway property at Balcombe on August 18th during protests against Cuadrilla’s exploration site near the village. […]
We asked Sussex Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to comment on the collapse of the first trial of a campaigner arrested during protests against Cuadrilla’s exploration at Balcombe. The case, heard at Brighton Magistrates, ended abruptly on Monday (25/11/13) when District Judge Peter Crabtree questioned whether an offence had […]
The first trial arising from protests outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site at Balcombe collapsed within an hour when the judge questioned whether an offence had been committed. District Judge Peter Crabtree invited the prosecution to drop the case at Brighton Magistrates Court this morning (25/11/13) after hearing evidence […]
West Sussex County Council used bailiffs today (19/11/13) to clear the protest camp which has been outside Cuadrilla’s exploration site at Balcombe since July. A statement by the council said: “As promised during the High Court hearing we have established a new designated protest area close to the entrance […]
A delegation of opponents of fracking met the leader of West Sussex County Council, Louise Goldsmith, today at County Hall in Chichester. The delegation comprised villagers from Balcombe, Fernhurst and Wisborough Green/Kirdford, where the oil and gas companies, Cuadrilla and Celtique Energie, want to carry out exploratory drilling. […]
The trial of a teenager charged following a protest outside Cuadrilla’s exploration site at Balcombe was unable to go ahead this morning (November 6th 2013) because the wrong sort of magistrates were in court. Only one of the three magistrates on the bench at Brighton was permitted to […]
Cuadrilla Resources Ltd has renewed the lease on its exploration site at Balcombe until 2043. The lease was signed with Simon Greenwood, owner of the Balcombe Estate, on September 26th, 3 days before the previous agreement expired. View the Land Registry document giving lease details: RegisterPlanWSX359771 News of the […]
DRILL OR DROP? 