Cuadrilla boss Mark Miller received a tongue lashing at a public meeting in Balcombe, West Sussex, last night.
300 people – including 100 standing – packed Balcombe’s Victory hall to hear the Cuadrilla CEO expound on the company’s controversial Hydraulic Fracturing technique, scheduled to take place a mile from the village.
(Listen to a recording of the Q&A here)
Miller, a US citizen, struggled to finish his presentation amid catcalls of ‘get out’ and ‘stay away from here’ broke out through the audience.
Chairman Charles Metcalfe repeatedly asked for calm, but an increasingly angry crowd continually interrupted in an emotional meeting unheard of in the quiet Sussex village. Mr Miller – attempting to explain the company’s track record of causing earthquakes in Lancashire – struggled to make himself heard as questions and derision were thrown thick and fast.
Balcombe is scheduled to be Cuadrilla’s first fracking site outside Lancashire. The company received planning permission in June 2010, and planning documents reveal the company intends to frack at this test borehole. The fracking depth is 2660 feet – 6000 feet shallower than in Lancashire.
The breadth of Balcombe’s interests was also revealed – a risk insurer asked why Cuadrilla had not performed risk assessment prior to drilling. A geologist pointed out that Cuadrilla’s own documents show potential leaks of fracking fluid coming within 400 feet of the surface at the Balcombe site.
Also present for Cuadrilla was Nick Sutcliffe, representing Cuadrilla’s lobbying firm, PPS Group. Sutcliffe is a Guildford District Councillor, and has facilitated Cuadrilla’s planning applications – much to the disgust of the audience present.
West Sussex County Council and Balcombe Parish Council were not spared the meeting’s wrath. A WSCC councillor braved the audience to explain that procedures had been followed, while a Balcombe parish councillor explained: ‘we were asked about this two years ago. Who knew about hydraulic fracturing then?’.
Listen to a recording of the Q&A here
http://gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NO-Fracking-in-Sussex/269121553136944
I recorded the Q&A section of the meeting- Listen here:
http://soundcloud.com/cnut3/balcombe-meeting-11-1-12
http://soundcloud.com/cnut3/balcombe-meeting-section2
http://soundcloud.com/cnut3/balcombe-meeting-section3
http://soundcloud.com/cnut3/balcombe-meeting-section4
http://soundcloud.com/cnut3/balcombe-meeting-section5
Difficult fighting not only the money being ofrfeed by the Cuadrilla Resources company but more importantly our own reckless government, who claim to be the GREEN GOVERNMENT. Not only does this process run against the aim of developing renewables, which has been widely adopted all over the EEC, but our government has purposefully failed to create safeguards for us it’s paymasters to monitor and prevent damage to our water supplies and the wider environment. Come on Lib / Dems wake up !
Well done Balcombe. I hope Mendip residents can run the fracking corportaions out of town as well. I have personal experience of fracking in both Texas and Pennsylvania. You really don’t want to go there.
I think Roslyn Cherry is exactly oecrrct. This is a time to live democracy as it was meant to be lived, as responsible adults, not only endowed by our creator with inalienable rights, but also inalienable responsibilities towards our living planet and each other (breathing lives). Democracy is only as alive as its citizens, not in its ossified institutions captured by Corporations.
Difficult fighting not only the money being fofreed by the Cuadrilla Resources company but more importantly our own reckless government, who claim to be the GREEN GOVERNMENT. Not only does this process run against the aim of developing renewables, which has been widely adopted all over the EEC, but our government has purposefully failed to create safeguards for us it’s paymasters to monitor and prevent damage to our water supplies and the wider environment. Come on Lib / Dems wake up !
My take on last night’s meeting. A fracking disaster!
http://millicentmedia.com/2012/01/12/cuadrilla-in-balcombe-a-fracking-pr-disaster/
Check out the Fracking documentary on Netflix during the free trial, it’s called “Gasland”, very informative and disturbing. You do not want Fracking in this county full stop.
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