In a letter published by the British Medical Journal, 20 high profile doctors, pharmacists and public health academics said the “inherently risky” industry should be prohibited in the UK.

The letter follows a report published in the same week by Dr David McCoy and Dr Patrick Saunders for MEDACT. The report identifies direct and immediate health impacts of fracking and states that:

“While the precise level of risk to human health is indeterminate, the health hazards involved are substantial. No assurance can be given that the (UK regulatory) system is adequately robust and protective of human and ecological health”

Read the full report here…

Object to Fracking on the Fylde now!

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Cuadrilla’s Fracking Plans Threaten Fylde Primary School

Parents at Weeton St Michael’s are concerned about the impacts of fracking and the industrialisation it entails. Their children’s school is just one mile from Cuadrilla’s proposed fracking site at Preston New Road near Little Plumpton. They have already gathered over 200 signatures on a petition they plan to submit to Lancashire County Council.

Lancashire County Council Avoid Discuss

Claire whose daughters attend Weeton St Michael’s, said if the application is granted several parents would remove their children from the school.

“The main reason parents decided to group together and petition the county council is the lack of information on the potential risk factors of a primary school being one mile away from an industrial operation.”

“No dialogue has been entered into with parents and they were unhappy with the response from the Governors and County Hall continually stating they are unable to discuss it.”

“The prevailing wind is south-westerly, and therefore most of the time, the fumes from any fugitive gas emissions, the many diesel compressors and generators will blow polluted air directly over the school and according to a recent journal, may well exacerbate respiratory and skin conditions.”

Read the full story here…

More about the peer-reviewed study here…

Read more peer-reviewed studies here…

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Lancashire County Council have rejected Cuadrilla’s plans to continue work at their prospective fracking site at Singleton.

Councillors voted against Cuadrilla’s proposal LCC/2014/0084 to start pressure testing and seismic monitoring at the previously drilled site by seven to six (with one interest declared and one abstention) more details… Significantly they chose to ignore planning officers recomendation to approve and are now demanding to see the full report on the impacts of fracking on rural communities by DEFRA.

Read Singleton Against a Fracked Environment full statement here…

The well at Grange Road was originally drilled in 2011. Planning permission was granted in 2010 for 18 months after which the site should have been restored. The Council did not take any action to enforce the restoration conditions so Cuadrilla ignored them (a standard industry tactic) and left the well in a suspended state for the last 4 years. The planning regulations that were stated with regards to the refusal were the Fylde Plan, Lancashire Minerals and Waste Development Framework (LMWDF) and Lancashire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (LMWLP) full details…

This decision is another massive victory for “A Frack Free Lancashire” and everyone affected by these fracking plans! It sends a clear message to Cuadrilla that it’s activities are finally being subjected to some scrutiny. It remains to be seen what Cuadrilla will do next.

If you oppose fracking in Lancashire we would love to hear from you.

Now is the time to put even more pressure on Cuadrilla and oppose their fracking plans at Preston New Road and Roseacre.

Contact your Local Group now!

Register your Objection now!

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Cuadrilla Resources have another planning application before Lancashire County Councils Planning Committee. They have applied for a three year extension to planning at their Grange Road Site in Singleton.

Cuadrilla want to “retain the existing site compound and access track, install seismic and pressure monitors within the existing well, undertake seismic and pressure monitoring”.

The application LCC/2014/0084 dates back to the 19th May 2014 and it’s consideration has been delayed considerably due to haggling over the mitigation of ecological issues. Natural England have now withdrawn their objection, viewing the application in isolation (ignoring the impacts of fracking in the US & Canada) and trusting Cuadrilla to adhere to their plans. Cuadrilla withdrew their application to frack at the site in November 2014, submitting plans to frack at Roseacre & Preston New Road instead.

Although on the surface this application for testing! may appear benign, Cuadrilla’s intentions are not. They hope to retain the site, reinforce the precedent for industrial activity on the site and apply to frack the well at a later stage! It is only due to the vigilance, resourcefulness, commitment and public-spirited people of the Fylde, Lancashire and Britain that we have been able to hold back the tide of drilling rigs over our landscape.

It is important that we continue to use all our efforts to fight every one of Cuadrilla’s applications.

Register your Objection now!

Object on grounds of:

• Insufficient information with regards to the processes involved
• Lack of proper ecological assessments; Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Habitat Impact Assessment (HIA), Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA), Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA)

Ask questions about:

• The implications and impact for this application of Cuadrilla’s proposed fracking activities at the Roseacre & Preston New Road sites

Come and Support Singleton Residents at the planning meeting!

County Hall Preston, Wednesday 25th February 2015, 10am start.

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Fiona from the Frack Free Alliance updated us with their recent leaflet / publication going out to Farmers subscribing to The National Farmer  and The Farmers Guardian.

“We recently put the leaflet out as an insert in the Farmers Guardian to their 20,500 subscription readers, which went on to generate interest from the online publication “National Farmer”.  The National Farmer has subsequently done a news editorial piece based on it, they are now sending the leaflet out as an email to their 54,000 readers.”

The leaflet can be downloaded here!

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Lancashire County Council have now set the date for the determination of Cuadrilla Resources planning applications to drill and frack for shale gas in Lancashire.

If approved these applications will permit the first use of fracking in the UK since Cuadrilla fracked at Preese Hall Farm in 2011 (causing earthquakes).

23rd June 2015 – Preston New Road LCC/2014/0096

25th June 2015 – Roseacre Wood LCC/2014/0101

There are a number of ways that you can register your objection

Cuadrilla have stated that if they get permission they will start work immediately. If you oppose Cuadrilla’s plans it is essential that you register your objection before the 30th June 2015.

Post

Outline your objections in a letter or print out the pro-forma letters below and post them to:

The Development Management Group, County Hall, PO Box 100, Preston, PR1 0LD

Preston New Road Pro-forma Letter

Roseacre Wood Pro-forma Letter

IMPORTANT: You must always include your name, signature, full address, post code and date in all correspondence to Lancashire County Council, otherwise your letter may not be valid.

Email

Compose your own comments or copy and paste comments from the pro-forma letters above and email them to: devcon@lancashire.gov.uk

Phone

You can talk to someone and list your objections by phone: 01772 531929

Online

To object online follow these steps:

Step 1 – Click here then select ‘make a representation online’
Step 2 – Fill in your name, address and email, then click ‘Next’
Step 3 – State why you oppose Cuadrilla’s plans

IMPORTANT – Include the following details
Application number – Preston New Road: LCC/2014/0096 Roseacre Wood: LCC/2014/0101

Location of development – Can be left blank

Your objection – Explain your concerns and consider using the pro-forma objection letters above for guidance

Step 4 – Click ‘Submit’ and you’re done…

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Lancashire County Council has announced that it has delayed the determination of Cuadrilla’s planning applications until 30th April 2015.

Here is the press release from Lancashire County Council:

Planners agree more time for shale gas decisions

Lancashire County Council has agreed with Cuadrilla to extend the time allowed to decide the planning applications for shale gas development to allow for consultation on new information mainly relating to noise and traffic. The county council’s Development Control Committee decided last week to defer the decision.

The applications are to drill, frack, and test gas flows, with associated separate applications for environmental monitoring, at two sites in Lancashire – Preston New Road at Little Plumpton, and Roseacre Wood at Roseacre. Read more…

The council’s planners are currently considering new information on noise and traffic and will hold a further consultation with regulators and the public before putting their recommendations to the committee. Dates for the consultation and the meetings at which the Development Control Committee will decide the application will be announced in due course.

Watch this space and follow us on Social Media for regular updates!

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On legal advice Lancashire County Council’s Planning Committee have voted to defer all four of Cuadrilla’s fracking applications for at least 8 weeks.

‘LCC’s chief legal adviser said that these proposals were “substantive” and therefore had to go out to public consultation’

Committee members expressed concern that their authority was being undermined by higher powers and asserted that they held responsibility for the decision. Concern was also expressed for the public and residents right to a fair and timely hearing.

The decision will be delayed by at least eight weeks (around 25th March) and we are guaranteed further half hour presentations on the revised applications.

Outside spirits are high and the fight will continue. If you aren’t involved yet, now is the time to join us! We have 8 more weeks to get even more organised!!!

Contact your Local Group now!

Register your Objection now!

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