Protests set to return to Lancashire if new Prime Minister drives through her plan to bring back fracking
Liz Truss has said that she would look to overturn the moratorium of fracking in the UK where it has communities’ support.
And the oil and gas industry has said it may consider offering incentives to communities near drilling sites such as 25 per cent off energy bills to ensure their support for the controversial process.
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Hide AdFracking was halted in 2019 after a series of earth tremors were caused by the two wells fracked at Preston New Road near Little Plumpton.
Today, members of the groups which took part in protests at the Lancashire frack site said they would be ready to do it all again.
A spokesman for the Lancashire Nanas group said: “With the next Prime Minister looking to lift the current moratorium on fracking, we need to be asking: what has really changed?
“The moratorium came about because it was clear after 10 plus years of trying to frack for shale gas, that the geology wasn't suitable and communities would be at risk.
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Hide Ad"Other than rising costs, nothing else has changed to make fracking any safer or more suitable now, than it was when work was halted following multiple seismic events and public opposition.
“Lancashire Nanas along with residents from across the UK and internationally have worked relentlessly to get this industry banned and nothing has changed for us either.
"We WILL take action to prevent the development of shale gas sites because the health and wellbeing of our children depends on it.
"The new PM says drilling projects will go ahead where 'communities support drilling activity in their local area' and fracking companies are dangling cruelly-tempting 25 per cent cuts to energy bills for hard-pressed residents; Blackpool residents like so many others are facing extreme poverty and anyone saying yes to a cut to energy bills, will not be doing so out of support, but desperation.
“Claims that fracking for shale gas will have any meaningful input into our energy supplies any time soon, are lies. Claims that shale gas from UK shale is for UK residents is also a lie. Gas is bought and sold at the international market price which will not bring down energy bills here and the gas won't be labelled 'UK gas for UK use'.
“This government has been in power for more than a decade and has failed to get residents or geology to play along with their ambitions to frack the UK; as Nanas we will continue to do all we can to ensure they do not succeed this time either.”
A Spokesman for Friends of the Earth said: “Fracking will do nothing to help the cost-of-living crisis, is deeply unpopular with local communities and would pump more planet-heating emissions into our atmosphere.
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Hide Ad“The quickest and cheapest way to tackle the energy crisis is to develop the UK’s vast homegrown renewable potential and roll-out a nationwide street-by-street home insulation programme – funded by a tougher windfall tax on the huge profits being raked in by oil and gas giants.
“Lancashire people have successfully seen off fracking once and, if necessary, they will do so again.”
Fracking industry body UKOOG said it could “reduce gas prices for residents local to our two hectare sites through our community benefits package.”