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| Cuadrilla gets green light for oil test at Balcombe | Cuadrilla gets green light for oil test at Balcombe |
| (4 months later) | |
| UK shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla has been given the green light to test oil extraction in Balcombe, the West Sussex village that saw major anti-fracking protests last summer. | UK shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla has been given the green light to test oil extraction in Balcombe, the West Sussex village that saw major anti-fracking protests last summer. |
| At a planning committee meeting that had to be adjourned at one point due to people disrupting it, West Sussex county council approved the company's application to undertake tests to see how fast oil would flow at a site on the outskirts of the village. | At a planning committee meeting that had to be adjourned at one point due to people disrupting it, West Sussex county council approved the company's application to undertake tests to see how fast oil would flow at a site on the outskirts of the village. |
| The committee's decision at County Hall North in Horsham on Tuesday was announced to cries of "shame on you" by some residents. Over 100 people attended the meeting. | The committee's decision at County Hall North in Horsham on Tuesday was announced to cries of "shame on you" by some residents. Over 100 people attended the meeting. |
| Heidi Brunsdon, chairman of the committee, said: “I thought the debate was robust. Members gave all the issues a good airing and the further conditions we agreed might not go as far as some would have wanted, but we feel they were proportionate and fair in addressing the issues that members of the committee had surrounding this application.” Monitoring of light and sound from the site were two of the conditions imposed on the approval. | Heidi Brunsdon, chairman of the committee, said: “I thought the debate was robust. Members gave all the issues a good airing and the further conditions we agreed might not go as far as some would have wanted, but we feel they were proportionate and fair in addressing the issues that members of the committee had surrounding this application.” Monitoring of light and sound from the site were two of the conditions imposed on the approval. |
| Cuadrilla submitted a planning application in January for an oil flow test at the well it drilled last year. | Cuadrilla submitted a planning application in January for an oil flow test at the well it drilled last year. |
| The company has said it will not conduct fracking, the controversial process of injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure underground to release shale gas, at the Balcombe site. "Cuadrilla will not be carrying out hydraulic fracturing at the Lower Stumble site now or in the future," it said in a recent statement. | The company has said it will not conduct fracking, the controversial process of injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure underground to release shale gas, at the Balcombe site. "Cuadrilla will not be carrying out hydraulic fracturing at the Lower Stumble site now or in the future," it said in a recent statement. |
| Kathryn McWhirter, a Balcombe resident and member of the Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association, told the Guardian: "We're all very upset. I found myself running down from the back of the hall and I screamed. We were all screaming shame on you. They had made their decision before. We had some very strong arguments and they didn't listen to them." | |
| She added: "It's going to be a huge industrialisation of our countryside. We're fighting not just for Balcombe but for the Weald, and for the rest of the country. We will continue to fight." | She added: "It's going to be a huge industrialisation of our countryside. We're fighting not just for Balcombe but for the Weald, and for the rest of the country. We will continue to fight." |
| She said it was likely there would be a repeat of the major protests seen last summer. "There comes a point where you have to glue yourself to something, and I've come to that point." | She said it was likely there would be a repeat of the major protests seen last summer. "There comes a point where you have to glue yourself to something, and I've come to that point." |
| Keith Taylor, the Green party MEP for south-east England, said he was disappointed by the decision. "Residents had raised very serious concerns about air and water pollution, noise and traffic, as well as the impacts on the countryside and the community. I fear that today’s decision will open the door to the dangerous dinosaur fossil fuel industry across south east England.” | |
| Separately on Tuesday, two anti-fracking activists were arrested by police for obstruction of a highway when protesting at a drilling site at Daneshill Road, outside Lound in Nottinghamshire. Anti-fracking protesters have been camped near the site, owned by Dart Energy, since mid-April. | Separately on Tuesday, two anti-fracking activists were arrested by police for obstruction of a highway when protesting at a drilling site at Daneshill Road, outside Lound in Nottinghamshire. Anti-fracking protesters have been camped near the site, owned by Dart Energy, since mid-April. |