The European Parliament has voted to make environmental impact assessments compulsory before fracking can go ahead. Under the current Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, many shale gas projects have avoided the need for an EIA because they extract less than 500,000 cubic metres a day. MEPs, who are reviewing the directive, […]
The government was urged today (8/10/13) to speed up exploratory drilling of shale gas in the UK . Professor Alan Riley, of City Law School, told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee no one was certain how much shale gas was technically and commercially recoverable in Britain, or […]
2/10/13 Environment Agency investigates possible pollution of a stream near Cuadrilla’s exploration site at Balcombe. Villagers report a section of the stream has turned bright green. The Agency says an initial visit found no evidence of “significant environmental harm” or threat to local water supply. Field measures show there […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 30/9/13 Anti-fracking protestors begin to leave the camp outside Cuadrilla’s site at Balcombe. The Guardian reports that tents, banners and makeshift structures are being cleared from verges. Cuadrilla closed the exploratory well before its planning permission expired on Saturday September 28th. The […]
28/9/13 Planning permission expires Cuadrilla’s planning permission from West Sussex County Council to explore for hydrocarbons at Lower Stumble Farm, Balcombe, expires.
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
DRILL OR DROP? 