Two people who attended the anti-fracking protests at Balcombe spoke this afternoon about how they went to the aid of a fellow demonstrator who they thought was being assaulted by a policeman. Kaity Squires, 20, from Portsmouth, and Timothy Harris, 29, from Crewkerne in Somerset, were giving evidence […]
Cuadrilla has written to Balcombe residents telling them it has no plans ever to frack its oil exploration well on the edge of village. The letter, signed by company Chief Executive, Francis Egan, says the oil-bearing rocks below the site at Lower Stumble are naturally fractured. Mr Egan […]
A large number of environmental campaigners stood on top of the well pad at Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site at Balcombe this afternoon (19/1/14). The action came at the end of a rally outside the site, which attracted around 300 people. They included residents of Balcombe, members of last […]
Anti-fracking groups from across the UK, gathering in Balcombe this afternoon (19/1/14), were told they had to win the battle against shale gas. The Green MEP and French farmer, Jose Bove, told a rally outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in the village: “Losing is not an option. For the […]
The shale industry needs to improve its engagement with the public, according to one of the UK’s leading environmental advisors. In a report published this week, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) said there was a “disappointing degree of defensiveness” from people closely involved in […]
The Guardian reported that Britain has defeated European Union attempts to set legally binding environmental regulations for the shale gas industry. According to the paper, David Cameron has led intense lobbying against the proposals, arguing that existing rules are strict enough to keep fracking safe and that new rules would delay investment and increase […]
The Crown Prosecution Service refused to comment on the acquittal of the first people arrested at the Balcombe anti-fracking protest last summer. Yesterday, a group of 11 environmental campaigners were found not guilty after a three-day trial of obstructing the highway outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site, (See below […]
There were cheers and shouts of thank you from the packed public gallery of Brighton Magistrates Court this afternoon (9/1/14) as the first group of anti-fracking campaigners arrested at the Balcombe protest last summer were found not guilty of all charges. Eleven protestors* had been charged with obstructing […]
The trial of the first environmental campaigners arrested at anti-fracking protests in Balcombe heard this afternoon from the officer in charge of the policing operation. Chief Inspector Matthew Webb, based at Crawley Police Station, was the bronze commander on July 26th, the second day of protests outside Cuadrilla’s […]
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 […]
