Rob Hopkins on why fracking does not work for communities....

Rob Hopkins has written this piece in Transition Communities on why fracking does not work for communities 

 http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2014-01/6-reasons-why-theres-no-community-fracking

Fracking: Coastal Oil&Gas retreats from Kent ... for Now

from East Kent Against Fracking:
PRESS RELEASE

EAST KENT AGAINST FRACKING
CONTROVERSIAL DRILLING PLANS WITHDRAWN!
Friday, November 08 2013

Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd has abandoned plans to drill for coal bed methane gas in 3 east Kent villages.

The news was broken to the campaign group East Kent Against Fracking yesterday in an e-mail from Sharon Thompson, Head of Planning Applications at Kent County Council (KCC) explaining that the company had withdrawn its planning applications to drill exploratory boreholes at Shepherdswell, Tilmanstone and Guston after recent requests were made to provide further information about issues raised during the planning process.

Julie Wassmer, vice chair of East Kent Against Fracking, said: "On October 14th the Environment Agency wrote letters to KCC regarding each of the sites, stating that Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd had not provided sufficient information with their applications and the Environment Agency was therefore 'unable to advise whether or not the environment (in particular groundwater quality) can be protected from this development.' The agency further recommended that planning permission should not be granted on the basis of the information provided and that if the new information was not forthcoming, then the Environment Agency 'would be minded to object to the application.'" Ms Wassmer claims "The company's withdrawal of its applications clearly demonstrates that it was unable to satisfy the demands for information about how Kent water could be protected from contamination by drilling in this area. This is a victory in the sense that yesterday we had three applications for drilling in East Kent and today we have none."

All four parish councils relating to the 3 sites opposed the applications. The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (Kent) opposed the applications. Further campaign groups sprang up in the villages to oppose the applications (Keep Shepherdswell Well and Eythorne in the Side of the Drilling etc) and Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke also spoke out against the applications on site specific concerns relating to the threat to the local Chalk aquifer.

Rosemary Rechter, chair of EKAF said, "We are delighted to have won the first round, and want to thank all the people who have worked so hard to understand the true facts about this industry, and to share those facts. This industry will not provide jobs and cheap energy but will threaten our water and industrialise our countryside so the battle will go on."

KCC confirms that no further action will be taken on the planning applications. Any new applications will be subject to the necessary consultations and publicity.

Ends

Shepherdswell Fracking meeting ...

Fracking in Kent? The Public Say No!

Jamie Weir, PR & Events Manager, Protect Kent 

Friday 27^th September 2013

Almost 300 concerned members of the public crowded in to Sheperdswell village hall on Wednesday night to listen to CPRE Protect Kent’s views on the 3 applications for exploratory boreholes in Dover district. CPRE Protect Kent Chairman Richard Knox-Johnston introduced the organisations views and briefed the crowd on the serious concerns that CPRE Protect Kent has with the test boreholes being drilled, whilst the Chairman of our Environment Committee, Graham Warren, gave a technical description of the geology of the area and the potential impact that drilling may have on Kent’s water resources.  CPRE Protect Kent’s experts believe that in an already water-stressed area of the country, the prospect of loss or contamination of water resources that are already heavily committed is too great a risk and that the geological uncertainties of the Kent coal fields remain too great a hazard

 

Members of the public were given the opportunity to ask questions of the CPRE experts in attendance, whilst the local MP Charlie Elphicke also attended to hear the views of the public and to answer questions. He echoed the concerns raised by Protect Kent over the particular risks of gas exploration in this location and announced that he would raise these concerns with Ministers.

 

CPRE Protect Kent has a number of serious concerns about test boreholes being drilled in these rural areas, not least the landscape and traffic implications whilst our Environment Committee has raised serious concerns regarding the potential for groundwater contamination due to the particular formation of geological layers and fault lines beneath the chalk.

 

CPRE Protect Kent Chairman Richard Knox-Johnston said:

 

“There is considerable concern amongst those in the area about this drilling operation, the way in which it needs to be regulated and the unseemly speed with which the planning application is being processed. We are also concerned by the many impacts these developments will have on the tranquil landscapes of the Dover district. We would ask all members of the public who are concerned by these developments to respond to the Kent County Council planning applications to ensure that their voice is heard.”

Don't FRACK Our Future - Doreen's Story Video

Don't FRACK Our Future - Doreen's Story



produced by FRACK-OFF

If you cannot see video this is the link

New Fracking Film on the British Dash for Gas

New film on fracking from the Ecologist Film unit....

If you cannot see the embedded film click here for the link

CPRE - Fracking Workshop on 26th Jan

PROTECT KENT have organised a workshop on “shale gas extraction” this weekend.

Saturday 26th January 2013 , 10:30 am until 1:30 pm , at the Lenham Community Centre* (James Hatch Suite)

If you wish to attend, please reply to this e-mail as soon as possible. Numbers will be limited, although we are hoping to accommodate up to 45 people.

As recently advertised, the event will be “A seminar and workshop to discuss our concerns about shale gas exploitation, our response to the Government's recent announcements, and our actions to mitigate or prevent the impacts from this industry before the 'dash for gas' causes irreparable damage to our communities and countryside” .

The intention is to begin the morning with speakers from appropriate organisations talking about their concerns, starting with ourselves (CPRE Protect Kent). We will be presenting our case, covering CPRE’s views on shale gas extraction and what actions we are taking to have the impacts removed, controlled or mitigated. Other speakers are invited to follow this lead.

These presentations will be followed by a semi-informal ‘open floor’ debate; we may split off into two or more work-groups for this, depending upon numbers attending.

The overall aim of the workshop is to understand each other’s approach to shale gas extraction and hopefully form a collective view from which to promote further lobbying.

If you wish to speak on behalf of any organisation, please let us know as soon as convenient.

Once we have received replies on attendance and speakers, a more formal agenda will be compiled and issued.

We look forward to hearing from you !

andrew.ogden@protectkent.org.uk

*details of the venue can be found at : http://www.lenhamcommunitycentre.org.uk/index.html

Rosie is off to Brussels ...

Deal With It's coordinator - Rosie Rechter - Is off to Brussels tomorrow to present a petition on the regulations around fracking to the EU Parliament's petition committee

Rosie's petition is focussed on loose regulatory framework there is for this process. In the UK the regulations are essentially the same used in the North Sea. Hint: not many people live in the North sea ...
Good luck Rosie from us all ... more on this later in the week

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing of shale and coal layers to produce methane gas. A mix of water [lots of it], sand and a cocktail of some not very nice chemical is pumped at high pressure deep underground to explode the rock and release gas.

Gasland Film Show 9th July Canterbury

The Cooperative are show specially edition version of Gasland - the film that exposes impact that the shale gas bonanza has had in the US - in Canterbury on Monday 9th July at 6:30pm

The film show will be at Anselm Theatre, Canterbury Christchurch University CT1 1QU

For full details and reserve a seat please contact Cooperative at membership.southeast@co-operative.coop or call 0800 015 1147.

Food and drink will be provided.

Cooperative showing Gaslands on 9th July

The Co-operative as part its national campaign against shale gas and its negative impact on our environment is running a series of special showings of the Gaslands - theaward-winning  film by Josh Fox showing the impact of shale gas in the US.

There will be one in Canterbury on Monday 9th July at 6:30pm at Anselm Theatre, Christ Church University, Canterbury

You will need to register at the Cooperative here

We understand there will be speakers from the Co-operative, Keith Taylor Green Party MEP and East Kent Against Fracking

Deal With It on BBC Inside-out on #Fracking

Just in case you missed the BBC SE 'Inside-out' programme on moves to exploit Shale and other unconventional gases in Kent and the rest of the country by the discredited 'Fracking' method it is now on Iplayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01b94c2/Inside_Out_South_East_23_01_2012/

Well done our Rosie.....

Coastal Oil & Gas to do a presentation to Sandwich Town Council on Monday 23

Fracking company, Coastal Oil & Gas is doing a presentation to Sandwich Town Council at the Guildhall on Monday 23rd Jan from 6pm. 

The Company got their proposal for a test bore at Woodnesborough through the inital planning at KCC in December 2011.

We are not sure whether this will be public or if members of the public will be able to address the council as it is not part of the main agenda for the meeting

If you are are around on monday please turn up around 5:45pm to see what is going on.. lets know if you can make it by emailing dealwithittoday@yahoo.co.uk

No Fracking in Deal High Street

Following the the front page of the Mercury from last week's leafletting We had a very successful morning in Deal High St leafletting and talking to people about the threaten 'Fracking' coming to East Kent.

We handed out over 200 leaflets and a stall explaining what the test bore hole in Woodnesborough could led to. Many people signed up for the Campaign as well.

Many thanks to Sarah, Charles, Rosie, Pam, Elaise and Steve plus Vicki & Helen for organising the leaflets.

There is a Facbook page 'No Fracking in East Kent' for the campaign here and you Email us at fracking@dealwithit.org

KCC Planning Committee on Fracking 6th Dec

We finally have a date for the hearing of the application to drill a test bore hole at Woodnesborough. It will be heard at Sessions House, County Hall Maidstone on Tuesday 6^th December, starting at 10 am.  

It would be great to have as much support as possible at what will be the beginning of what may be a long process in the possible exploitation of Shale Gas by means of fracking in our district, and a show of strength at this point would help to persuade the members of the Planning Committee that is not a good idea to open the way to an industrial procedure that could contaminate our water,degrade our environment, cause long term health problems, and distract us from the need to develop renewable energy and preserve our lovely countryside to grow our food on.

If you are free to come with us on Tuesday, and need a lift, or can offer one please email us at fracking@dealwithit.org

We will be leafleting again  in Deal outside M&S on Saturday morning from 10.15 am ,please join us if you can!

The planning committee report can be found here

The Vale Says No & stops fracking in Wales

As some of your may know Coastal Oil & Gas who are looking to introduce the exploitation of unconventional gas in East Kent by the controversial hydraulic fracking method are also doing a similar thing in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.

The local community campaign 'The Vale says NO' has run a great campaign and this week were rewarded with the local authority throwing out Coastal's application

from the Vale says No website:


Common sense prevailed! The Vale planning committee unanimously rejected the planning application that we have been campaigning against for 7 months!

We have won the battle, but we haven’t won the war. There is still a lot to do, but this is a fantastic result.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this campaign so far. It’s taken a lot of hard work, but it has certainly paid off for now.

Here are a few reports on last night:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-15371033
http://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/historic-decision-by-vale-council-to-reject-shle-gas-test-drilling/
 
We hope this sets an example to other campaign groups and planning committees. You can stop it at this early stage!

Not content with chasing this out of the Vale, now we know how risky this industry is, we can’t stop here. We are going to concentrate on raising awareness throughout Wales and the rest of the UK ultimately calling for a moratorium from the Welsh and UK Government. If you haven’t already, please sign our HM Government e-petition http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14271



Well done from Kent to our inspirational colleagues in Wales.

BBC Radio 'the Report' on Shale Gas

If you are looking for a primer on the issues around Shale Gas, a good place to start is the BBC Radio 'The Report' 13th Oct edition which was on Shale Gas... All this is coming to us in East Kent...

Worth a listen ... postcast should be available here soon

Camp Frack could be staged in Kent, say protesters

From the Your Deal online newspaper:


"Climate activists who staged ‘Camp Frack’ in Lancashire as part of a mass protest against hydraulic fracking have refused to rule out similar action in Kent.

The campaigners said there was “every possibility” protests would be staged if tests for coal in Woodnesborough, near Sandwich, led to the controversial extraction method, which involves firing high-pressure liquid into rocks to force gas out.

The process was blamed for sparking earthquakes near Blackpool earlier this year and is believed to pose a threat of contamination to ground water supplies.

Last weekend, around 150 people set up camp in Lancashire in protest against moves by company Cuadrilla Resources to drill 3.5km deep to extract shale gas. 

A similar planning application by Welsh company Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd has been submitted to Kent County Council to drill an exploratory borehole in land at Woodnesborough.

Although director of the firm Gerwyn Williams stressed it was a simple test of the coal, activists fear the activity will lead to hydraulic fracking if gas is found in shale rock at the site.

Phil Thornhill, national co-ordinator for Campaign Against Climate Change, said the group was waiting on the planning decision, which is expected next month ....." read more here

Date for Fracking Planning meeting is 11th Oct

Fracking in Kent: 

On Tuesday October 11th, the application for Test Drilling for Shale Gas at Woodnesborough will be considered at by the Planning Committee of Kent County Council at Maidstone.

The licence owned by Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd who is making this application covers an extremely large area of East Kent, including Deal, Walmer, Sandwich, Eastry, surrounding villages and stretching towards Canterbur.

We believe it represents a huge threat, not only to our environment generally but that the quality of life in the whole district could be affected by potentially 24 hour noise from drilling, contamination of water supply, and loss of amenity.

More will follow on this very soon …..

Camp Frack in Blackpool

Weekend of 17th-18th September

Join the resistance to the “fracking” invasion! Stop the imminent expansion of shale gas extraction all around the UK! We need renewables - sacrificing our countryside for every last drop of of fossil fuel is crazy! Camp Frack will be in the Blackpool/North Lancashire area near the ongoing exploratory drilling activities. It will involve workshops on shale gas, and on planning the campaign against it. It will involve raising local awareness about the problems with shale gas and an action day of peaceful protest against the drilling activities currently in progress in the Blackpool area. Register your interest by filling in the form at www.campaigncc.org/campfrack. We will send you more information as soon as it is available. If you are interested in getting a coach from London then please tick the box. This will give us an idea of numbers and help us plan transport. If you are able to spare a bit of time to help the camp run smoothly, tick the corresponding box and we will get in touch. Camp Frack has already amassed interest from the media, including The Guardian and the Blackpool Gazette. See our shale gas page here and download a PDF flier for the camp here. Listen to the recording of our London Public Meeting on 19th July with Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall° Centre, Caroline Lucas MP, Michael Meacher MP and local Blackpool campaigner, Phil Mitchell. Put this date in your diary – more info to come soon. Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know!

Letter to Charlie on Fracking... from Kent Green Party

Dear Editor, Charlie Elphicke MP is choosing to support possible hydraulic fracking near Woodnesborough. Having debated the subject with him on radio and having attended a major public meeting on the subject in London(1), I must ask him through your newspaper to re-consider his position on this issue. Hydraulic fracking, using a mixture of water and chemicals to extract shale gas from rocks, has been shown to cause groundwater contamination, air pollution and is implicated in the recent earthquakes in the Blackpool area which occurred whilst fracking was taking place. As an
area with comparatively low rainfall and an increasing population, East Kent in general should not welcome any industrial activity that uses and pollutes large quantities of water.

Banned in South Africa and about to be banned in France, hydraulic fracking is under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA after widespread problems associated with this practice. Does Mr Elphicke
want groundwater pollution, subsidence, declining property values and additional greenhouse gas emissions to be features of his constituency? Since reductions of 50-70% in energy demand are possible through improved
energy efficiency in the UK, we do not need marginal amounts of gas obtained at the expense of our water supplies(2). Obtaining shale gas using techniques known to be environmentally damaging is neither necessary nor consistent with the fight against Climate Change which Mr Elphicke’s own Party supports. Nor could it be expected that a rigorous environmental impact assessment of hydraulic fracking would allow the activity to take place anywhere, given the record in other countries which can be seen in detail on line.

There is no shame in admitting you are wrong. I am sure the community will rally behind their MP if he decides to fight fracking. Let him now do so.

Yours sincerely Steve Dawe PRESS OFFICER, KENT GREEN PARTY

Gasland film 16th August