Fracking begins in UK for first time in seven years
LONDON: Anti-fracking protesters have taken to the streets in Lancashire as fracking operations BEGIN — first time they have taken place in the UK for seven years.
British shale gas company Cuadrilla has begun hydraulic fracking for natural gas at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire, northwest England, it said on Monday.
The company will spend at least three months fracking two horizontal wells − which involves injecting sand, water and chemicals to split tightly packed shale rock and extract gas − to test gas low rates at the site, it said in a statement.
Police were present at the site at Preston New Road, Little Plumpton, near Blackpool, where campaigners from Reclaim the Power gathered ready for site crew to arrive.
Around 7:00am two activists locked themselves to three tyres and sat in the middle of the road outside the site. Images on social media show them holding placards.
Charlie Edwards, from Reclaim the Power, said in a statement: “Today the government have launched their “Green Great Britain” week – a tokenistic attempt to hide a series of climate- wrecking decisions such as expanding Heathrow airport and forcing fracking on the local communities.”
He added that the UK’S energy minister, Claire Perry, had “the hypocrisy to say there was “no excuse” for inaction on climate change. So we’re here today to stop the start of fracking, and show Claire Perry what real action on climate change looks like.”
Green MP for Brighton Caroline Lucas tweeted her support of the “peaceful” protestors and also shared a clip of the blocked road near the controversial operation.
“Supreme irony that Government giving green light to whole new fossil fuel industry to start today - just a week after IPCC climate report on importance of keeping vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground,” she told her 316,000 followers.