Kirby Misperton Community Fracking Blockade (Yorkshire)

Fracking company Third Energy is planning to carry out hydraulic fracturing tests on the KM8 well at its Kirby Misperton site in North Yorkshire, which it previously drilled through the Bowland Shale. The company plans to initially target tight sandstone layers within the Bowland Shale (so called tight gas). This unconventional extraction is very similar to shale gas, with the same impacts at the surface, and a is step on the way to exploiting the shale itself. Ongoing planning issues have pushed Third Energy’s plans back into the second half of 2017 but preparation work has now started.

Communities across North Yorkshire and beyond have been resisting this threat for years, but now it has become much more tangible. These tests are just the first step in a process which could see thousands of fracking well spreading across North Yorkshire if not stopped. Third Energy’s is attempting to gather data which would allow it to gain further investment to push these plans forward. Come down and support the community at Kirby Misperton if you can.

Large numbers of people have gathered outside the gates and there is now an ongoing blockade of the site. This has been met with predictable police repression and a number of arrests, but in the face of this the community is standing strong. There is a long running camp nearby, Kirby Misperton Community Protection Camp (Facebook), supporting resistance at Kirby Misperton, as well as a small camp (Facebook) outside the fracking site gates.