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 […]
Police lines contain protestors outside the site entrance More news from August 19th
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 […]
11/7/2013 Amended planning permission. Cuadrilla Resources Ltd applies (WSCC/061/13/BA) for an amendment to condition 2 of its original planning permission (WSCC/027/10/BA). The company wants an extension in the time for the drilling and testing programme and site restoration from 36 months to 42 months from the start of […]
2011 5/12/2011 Cuadrilla Resources Ltd reveals it has planning permission for exploratory drilling at Balcombe. In a statement it says “Exploratory drilling activity may take place at a future date, consistent with the terms of the licence issued by DECC. The initial drilling for the core sampling and […]
DRILL OR DROP? 