Fracking firm gets green light to test for oil at Balcombe … again
The Guardian, Adam Vaughan, 9th January 2018
Approval by West Sussex council comes as another shale company plans a legal challenge against Scotland’s fracking ban
Fracking firm Cuadrilla has been given the go-ahead to explore for oil near a West Sussex village that was the site of the UK’s biggest anti-fracking protests.
The approval came as another shale company said it was planning a legal challenge against Scotland’s fracking ban.
Thousands of campaigners besieged Balcombe five years ago when Cuadrilla last tried to extract oil at the Lower Stumble site, igniting a national anti-fracking movement.
The company eventually scrapped its plans but recently applied for planning permission to test how much oil will flow from an existing well.
Photograph: Graham Turner, The Guardian
An anti-fracking protest at Balcombe in West Sussex, England, in 2013.
