New Scientist magazine says the Balcombe area of West Sussex could be one of the best places to drill for onshore oil after a study of shale rock throughout England. The study’s leader, Alastair Fraser, of Imperial College London, told the magazine: “Our analysis highlights the Balcombe area […]
7th March 2014 A man arrested at the Balcombe anti-fracking protests for walking his dog in front of a police escort has had his case adjourned again – this time because lawyers involved in the case were on strike. Nick Ward made the 100 mile journey from his […]
6th March 2014 Anti-fracking campaigners today challenged an attempt by the commercial landowner Peel to evict them from a 3m strip of land near the iGas exploratory drilling site at Barton Moss in Salford.
6th March 2014 Polls by a BBC TV programme and a regional newspaper both recorded a majority against fracking, but with very different margins.
3rd March 2014 1. Balcombe: end of public consultation approaches WSCC/005/14/BA application by Cuadrilla Balcombe Ltd There are 10 days left for people to respond to Cuadrilla’s application to flow test and monitor its oil exploration well at Lower Stumble. (The consultation period ends on 13th March 2014).
2nd March 2014 As the shale gas industry acknowledges that local antagonism may its biggest challenge, guest writer Paul Seaman looks at what drives opposition and how the companies respond. A recent survey on attitudes in oil and gas companies found that 55% of the industry believed local […]
A round-up of fracking news from February 2014. 28/2/14A freedom of information request to the Department of Energy and Climate Change confirms that Cuadrilla did not seismic surveys at Balcombe. The most recent surveys, according to DECC, were 2d surveys and were carried out in the 1900s
28th February 2014 A freedom of information request has confirmed that Cuadrilla carried out no seismic surveys in the Balcombe area and is relying on data from the 1990s, which one geologist has said is inadequate. Last year, Cuadrilla drilled a vertical and a horizontal oil exploration well […]
27th February 2014 Two anti-fracking campaigners arrested at the Balcombe protests were convicted this week of the ancient act of besetting. Sussex Police tried to prosecute more than 20 others for the same offence. So is besetting making a comeback and could it be a threat to environmental […]
26th February 2014 Balcombe Parish Council’s Oil Working Group meets today to discuss the village’s future policy on hydrocarbon issues. But how much influence will the council – and local people – have on oil exploration or production in their area? Is there a democratic deficit in decision-making […]
