A month ago today, on Thursday July 25th, Cuadrilla began moving equipment onto its exploratory drilling site near Balcombe in West Sussex. Anti-fracking campaigners gathered outside the gates and successfully stopped lorries getting into the site. By 11am, campaigners had established a camp on the verge alongside and vowed […]
Updates to August timeline 23/8/13 Costs reach £2.3m Sussex Police says the cost of policing protests at Balcombe has risen to £2.3m and is likely to reach £3.7m. It says the cost of the six-day Reclaim the Power camp, which ended on Wednesday August 21st, were £1.5m, including help […]
Even before the arrest yesterday of the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas – for illegally blocking the entry to the drilling site, along with other protesters – it was clear that any rational debate [about shale gas exploration] had been drowned out by a shrieking chorus of environmental […]
To Timeline August 2013 20/8/2013 Sussex Police say 10 people arrested yesterday outside the Cuadrilla site at Balcombe have been charged. Nine were charged with offences under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 and one with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. They will appear before […]
Police lines contain protestors outside the site entrance More news from August 19th
8.20 Two policeman get off the train at the same time as me at Balcombe. 8.23 Lots of traffic on the road from the station, some of it very fast. I get onto the verge as a police car comes past. I get a wave and wave back. 8.30 At the […]
Paul Batty Environment Agency officer responsible for issuing permits Simon Deacon Environment Agency technical specialist groundwater & contaminated land Divisional Manager County Development This postholder granted original Cuadrilla planning permission Louise Goldsmith Leader of West Sussex County Council She said: “I am very sorry for the disruption that […]
Leila Dean Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace Katy Dunn Member of No Fracking In Balcombe Society Suzie Horne Balcombe villager She said: “I am livid about it” [letter from West Sussex County Council leader which apologised for protest camp] Natalie Hynde Super-glued herself to Simon Metcalfe at entrance to Cuadrilla […]
Paul Batty Environment Agency officer with responsibility for issuing permits Simon Deacon Environment Agency Technical specialist for groundwater & contaminated land Leila Dean Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace Geoffrey Lean Daily Telegraph environment correspondent He said: “The Environment Agency has been found to be asleep on the job at the very […]
DRILL OR DROP? 