MOSCOW, August 9 (RIA Novosti) - Fracking protestors set up a new camp in Lancashire, England, as the industry prepares to establish more operations, The Morning Star has reported.
The article stated the group of 25 protestors claimed they had “tried all lawful methods available” over the past three weeks to no avail. The group claimed direct action was now a “matter of necessity.”
A series of protests have sprung up across northern England in attempt to garner government support. Lancashire has six exploratory fracking sites, with plans for dozens more, according to The Morning Star.
“There has been massive growth in resistance here in Lancashire as well as across the UK and, despite this, our government continues to push for fracking. We have done our research, spoken to those living in places across the world where fracking has already caused untold harm and come to the conclusion that this is an industry we will not have near our families,” a Frack Free Lancashire spokeswoman told The Morning Star.
“We don’t do this lightly. It is an awful thing to have to do but it is now a matter of self-defence,” the spokeswoman added.
After the latest camp was set up in Blackpool, 14,000 letters objecting to a Cuadrilla planning application were handed in to Lancashire County Council offices in Preston by campaigners from Frack Free Lancashire, a coalition of local anti-fracking groups. Reclaim the Power, a national group, plans a six-day camp for 1,000 people in the Blackpool area next week to support local anti-fracking groups.
Cuadrilla Resources obtained planning permission from Lancashire County Council for five test-drilling sites in the area, and has so far drilled four wells. Cuadrilla has been carrying out seismic testing on The Fylde, a coastal plain in western Lancashire, and has drilled other wells at Banks, Westby and Singleton to core sample the shale. Due to the high level of opposition, the company is currently trying to start two new fracking sites at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road, where planning applications are expected shortly, according to Frack Off, a grassroots direct action campaign against fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process involving the shattering rock strata by pumping in a mixture of water, sand and chemicals at high pressures to release gas. Those opposed to the process claim the mixture is toxic and that the process entails severe environmental risks including water and air pollution.
