Blackpool, Lancashire, UK 24th April, 2014. Angel Selam -Greenpeace. Blackpool and the Fylde has been the epicentre for the one time the ‘fracking’ part of the process of shale gas extraction has taken place. Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State for Business & Energy met with representatives from North West businesses to discuss what they can gain from the controversial drilling process. Individuals, groups, activists, and local residents representing farming and tourism sectors object to plans to ‘frack’ for shale gas in the Bowland Shale. Credit: Mar Photographics/Alamy Live News
Resident groups and environmental organisations from across Lancashire have joined together to plan opposition to the fracking industry in the county. A dozen groups met in Preston city centre to share information on forthcoming applications by Cuadrilla for multi-well frack sites in the Fylde, and a current application to extend their operations at the Banks site in West Lancashire. The Banks site, where Cuadrilla have previously broken planning conditions designed to protect wintering birds, is on the edge the wildlife-rich Ribble Estuary and in an important farming area. The groups also launched the Lancashire Frack Free Alliance which aims to unite farmers, chefs, restaurants and consumers to protect the local food economy from a large-scale fracking industry…………………… Fylde coast campaigners join forces with their counterparts from across the country to stage a demonstration outside the Winter Gardens on Thursday. Mr Fallon’s visit to Blackpool will see him meet with companies involved with the North West Energy Task Force to discuss the creation of supply chains for the shale gas industry in Lancashire by working alongside Cuadrilla Resources. The energy company is set to apply for licenses to drill deep underground on the Fylde coast, and explore the earth in Roseacre Wood and Little Plumpton, near Wharles. Tina Rothery, of Residents Action on Fylde Fracking, claims 13 Fylde coast-based groups and more than 100 from other parts of the country will be staging the demonstration during the visit. She said: “Michael Fallon is coming to try and win over our Lancashire businesses, but we are inviting people to show their opposition. “We are asking people to show it in their own peaceful way, and people are travelling here from the south. “Deep down I’m expecting a huge number of demonstrators. He (Fallon) is trying to convince businesses that this (fracking) will be profitable for them, but they will be the ones left with the mess.”
Size: 2371px × 3650px
Location: St Johns Square, Blackpool, Lancashire, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
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