Dates have been set for the first trials of anti-fracking campaigners, arrested following protests outside Cuadrilla’s exploration site at Balcombe during the summer. A hearing at Crawley Magistrates Court today (2/10/2013) reviewed the cases of about 60 campaigners. All deny the charges against them. The court set 12 […]
15/10/13 Any decision about fracking in Northern Ireland should be a matter for the Executive as a whole, says the Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster. Her comments follows a debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly where the Minister of the Environment assured assembly members that in the absence of evidence […]
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 […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 27/9/13 Cuadrilla leaves Balcombe Cuadrilla’s exploratory drilling site at Balcombe is cleared and Sussex Police scales down its operation. Superintendent Lawrence Hobbs says a few officers will remain in the area, mostly to ensure road safety. He acknowledges the policing operation will affect […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 26/9/13 Farewell to Cuadrilla Friends of the Earth Brighton announces a farewell gathering outside the Cuadrilla site at Balcombe at 11am on Saturday 28th September. The company has until Saturday, under the terms of its planning permission, to leave the site. 25/9/13 Rig […]
The Conservative MP who scrutinises energy policy told the shale gas industry it could face continuous opposition if it did not win public support for fracking. Tim Yeo, chair of the energy and climate change committee, said people had to be educated about the benefits of shale gas. […]
The fracking industry was warned today (September 19 2013) it could not afford a rogue operator or a single accident. The pro-fracking MP, Dan Byles, told the European Shale Gas and Oil Summit in London: “This is still a sensitive enough industry that an accident could shut everyone […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 16/9/13 West Sussex County Council fails in its attempt in the High Court to get an order to evict campaigners from the roadside at Cuadrilla’s exploration site at Balcombe. The court adjourned the case, ruling that there was a need to balance obtaining […]
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 […]
DRILL OR DROP? 