Fracking given the go-ahead in Lancashire despite local opposition

[BungoWomble]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37567866

Can't say it is surprising news. As soon as the government announced they were 'taking the decision away' from the local council who rejected fracking it was a foregone conclusion - why else would they do that after all.

But is absolutely infuriating. What kind of democracy are they still claiming we have in this country of the 'mother of parliaments'. Not to mention, of course, the reason for the initial local rejection, the environmental impact of fracking. Or the general attitude to people who don't live in the rich south-east.

Errol it does make it a non-local issue, so complaints about local democracy can be ignored.

False logic.

How false? Either local complaints have been over-ruled by central govt or it is a national issue, so national complaints and a response by national govt.

Jessia wells have been tried. It is one in Blackpool causing earth tremors which resulted in fracking stopping in the UK. Those in the US have persistently been accompanied by complaints of poisoned water supplies, cover ups and opposed 'conspiracy nutjob' complaints. And they do destroy the environment. There is no getting away from the problem of climate change.

Nor from the problem of a central authority forcing this particular energy technology on an area of the country whose people and their needs it has been ignoring for years (along with every other part of the country other than London, even other parts of the south are complaining) after also doing its best to discourage cleaner energy production, also for years.

Objections by people outside an area don't negate objections within it, which seems to be your 'logic' there.

Errol I agree, but the number of local objections is significantly smaller than presented. the complaint was that central government overruled a project despite local objection. it appears that most of the objection was from outside the local area, so it makes sense the decision is taken on a national level. The objectors have ignored the local aspect, so have the decision makers.

I'm horrified... how has it been allowed to be forced on us when we voted democratically NO!

Caroldecker LCC could only act on the protestations from within LCC... and pollution is all our problem? Wind and water tend to travel. It's a disgusting industry to inflict on people.
We voted NO. They have forced it on us. What happened to democracy?

Who pays you to post here?

Pardon?

Plans for the largest UK fracking test to date:
2 fracking sites, each with 4 horizontal wells, hydraulically fractured in 30-45 stages along each 1.25 mile length.
Each site will require around 20,000 vehicle movements, produce tens of millions of gallons of toxic and radioactive waste, flaring gas for up to a year and paving the way for hundred/ thousands more wells across the NW. The sites are carefully designed to produce data while masking the true intensity and scale of production fracking.
That's why 40,000 people objected to Fracking in Lancashire.

These test sites threaten to spread their tentacles far beyond Lancashire, with tens of thousands of fracking trucks traversing the country from various ancillary sites.

I'm hoping next Saturday to visit the camp that's been set up for the protectors.
Utterly abject and cross about what's been inflicted on us. It must be stopped somehow. We voted NO.

Good Luck Against Fracking. We don't have wells where we live yet, but there is one threatened a couple of miles from our house. The more people learn about this and make their voices heard, the harder it will be for the frackers to get away with it.

Hope you are right! The general apathy from most quarters is astonishing! Then there's the rubbish Cuadrilla spout about gold standard regs and trillions of jobs etc.

Anyone else read this?

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/linc-energy-coal-seam-gas-contamination-worse-than-previously-thought-20170209-gu9pqz.html

I'd have more confidence in the regulations if the government hadn't cut the number of inspectors and allowed the fracking companies to judge themselves. What could possibly go wrong?
On the positive side, use of renewable energy seems to be increasing rapidly around the world, despite those who say it can't be done. Solar and wind are falling in price and Tesla Power Wall batteries will be available for installation in the UK next month. When storage is solved the last argument for fossil fuels disappears.
I became involved in this issue when I saw what had happened to the landscape in the USA.

Biscuit I agree. Storage is key. But as you say it's improving all the time and coming down in costs. Keeping the dirty frackers at bay and hoping they become redundant before they even start has been one of the tactics of the protectors.

www.frackfreeunited.org/

Launched today - please join and share everywhere

I read the earlier comments on this post with interest. People saying fracking is fine - they clearly haven't done much research.

The company that wants to start unconventional drilling near where I live (in the rich south according to earlier posters, but I don't feel very rich??) has advised that despite wanting to start a new kind of process (untested, untried, they won't disclose what chemicals they plan to use despite everyone asking them over and over again) right over the aquifer that feeds water to hundreds of thousands of people in this area - they will not be insured to cover the costs of any contamination or other similar problem.

Tell me - how are we supposed to feel warm and cosy inside about these new processes (acidisation in case you are interested) being used right over our water supply, with that confirmation that the company won't cover accidents?

Looking at Australia, the effective business model is to let that company go bust if there is an ecological disaster. It is far cheaper than paying for it or taking out insurance and the parent company avoids any liability.

Profits over people, what a crock of shite. And scary how few people seem to know anything about it - there is certainly nothing about it on the news.

Why is there no news coverage? It's going to affect every area of the UK. All of us. The areas that won't be fracked still eat veg grown on our farms? Still breathe air? Still drink water? It's bizarre how there isn't rioting in the street... we are sleepwalking towards a potential nightmare and no one seems to give a fig.
Even mumsnet doesn't have an environment topic... yet it's the biggest thing to affect us over next few years... whatever your income, class, or political persuasion, Fracking is going to massively change things for everyone.
Just so a handful of companies can make a few more million quid... and check out the links between government and fracking lobbies. 💩🤢🙄

www.facebook.com/peoplepowerchange/videos/10155730874835788/

Omg that video was so worth watching. I don't understand why this isn't in the news.....oh yes, bug business are in charge...

untested, untried

The acidisation process has been around since 1935 and widely used since the 1980s. It is less common than hydraulic fracturing (fracking) but to call it untested and untried is ridiculous.

Ukog are proud to tell their shareholders that this is new.
Perhaps you ate referring to acid washing which has been in use for years and is something different.

I'm referring to acidising, i.e. matrix or fracture acidisation. But actually what UKOG are proposing in the South Downs is acid cleaning which is an even older technique dating back 120 years.

Do you have evidence for your claim that they tell their shareholders this is a new process? I've looked at their recent annual reports and shareholder statements and can't find anything.