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| Fracking faces land rights challenge from Lancashire farmer and Greenpeace | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Lancashire dairy farmer has joined forces with Greenpeace to launch a challenge to fracking in England. | |
| The environmental charity is working with people in Lancashire and the West Sussex village of Balcombe whose homes are near sites where the energy company Cuadrilla is looking at using hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas and oil. | The environmental charity is working with people in Lancashire and the West Sussex village of Balcombe whose homes are near sites where the energy company Cuadrilla is looking at using hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas and oil. |
| Andrew Pemberton, who supplies milk to 3,000 households in Lytham on the Lancashire coast, said he had joined the campaign because he would lose his livelihood if the local water became contaminated. | |
| The divisive technology of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has been associated with air and water pollution, radioactive waste and the despoliation of vast tracts of land, as well as methane emissions, in the US, where it was pioneered. | The divisive technology of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has been associated with air and water pollution, radioactive waste and the despoliation of vast tracts of land, as well as methane emissions, in the US, where it was pioneered. |
| Cuadrilla, which is currently the UK's only company engaged in fracking, has suffered a series of setbacks. Last week the firm announced it was is closing one of its five exploration sites, at Anna's Road in Lancashire, citing concerns about wintering birds. | |
| Greenpeace's case is based on fracking companies' plans to drill horizontally under people's homes; something the group says would be unlawful without permission. | |
| "Under English law, if you own land, your rights extend to all the ground beneath it. That means if someone drills under your home without permission it is trespass," said Greenpeace senior campaigner Anna Jones, citing a supreme court case from 2010 which ruled against an energy company called Star Energy UK. | "Under English law, if you own land, your rights extend to all the ground beneath it. That means if someone drills under your home without permission it is trespass," said Greenpeace senior campaigner Anna Jones, citing a supreme court case from 2010 which ruled against an energy company called Star Energy UK. |
| Jones added: "To avoid being liable for trespass, drillers would need landowners' permission. And this case is about people explicitly declaring they do not give that permission. This will make it extremely difficult for companies to move ahead with any horizontal drilling plans." | Jones added: "To avoid being liable for trespass, drillers would need landowners' permission. And this case is about people explicitly declaring they do not give that permission. This will make it extremely difficult for companies to move ahead with any horizontal drilling plans." |
| But the UK onshore operators group, which represents oil and gas companies, said: "This announcement by Greenpeace is extremely misleading. Operators in this country are abiding by the law, which states that activities at depths of over a mile under the ground do not impact landowners. However, in line with the law, operators will inform all landowners in a very clear and transparent manner. Underground working is hardly something that is employed by just the oil and gas industry but includes pipelines, fibre optics, geothermal energy and transport tunnelling to name but a few." | |
| Greenpeace made the announcement at a press conference in Lancashire on Monday morning. | Greenpeace made the announcement at a press conference in Lancashire on Monday morning. |
| Lytham dairy farmer Pemberton explained why he joined the action: "I'm supplying milk to 3,000 households, and if for any reason my water became contaminated, my business would be ruined and my livelihood destroyed, as well as the livelihoods of the 16 families who work for me. Fracking is dangerous and short-sighted. We should be keeping this gas in the ground." | |
| Greenpeace expects thousands of people to create a patchwork of no-go areas for fracking across the country. | |
| Also present at Monday's press conference were Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter, residents from Balcombe, West Sussex, which was home to an anti-fracking protest camp this summer. | Also present at Monday's press conference were Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter, residents from Balcombe, West Sussex, which was home to an anti-fracking protest camp this summer. |
| Metcalfe said: "Balcombe residents have spent the summer fighting Cuadrilla, while the government and local councils have done nothing to stop them. There are so many reasons why fracking would be disastrous for the UK. Kathryn [McWhirter] and I are keen to warn all the communities where licences to drill have been issued about the dangers of this poisonous process, and to help them in their fight." | Metcalfe said: "Balcombe residents have spent the summer fighting Cuadrilla, while the government and local councils have done nothing to stop them. There are so many reasons why fracking would be disastrous for the UK. Kathryn [McWhirter] and I are keen to warn all the communities where licences to drill have been issued about the dangers of this poisonous process, and to help them in their fight." |
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