Frack Free Lancashire, supported by Friends of the Earth, Frack Off, Greenpeace, The Green Party of England and Wales, Reclaim the Power, multiple unions and other NGOs, saw a successful National Anti-Fracking Rally on Saturday, the 25th of February.
The event was held at Maple Farm, close to the site Cuadrilla is currently preparing for hydraulic fracturing, in the face of further legal challenges on the 15th March against the Secretary of State’s decision to overrule the local council’s decision.
Estimates put attendance at the event at over 1000.
Speakers at the event included Friends of the Earth’s CEO, Craig Bennett, who talked about the urgent global need to reduce fossil fuel use. Labour’s MP, Cat Smith, also spoke to the crowds on democracy, along with a host of other community and national speakers.
Representatives of groups travelled from across the country to support Lancashire and the Preston New Road community. Campaigners have been engaged in a series of confrontations with the fracking company Cuadrilla after the government overruled a local council vote and gave approval to carry out exploratory works at the Preston New Road site.
Frack Free Lancashire has expressed ‘disappointment’ with the number of officers deployed by Lancashire Police, the use of police resources, and the closing of roads when it was unnecessary to do so.
The group have also alleged that Fylde Police’s claim that ‘around 150 [protestors] proceeded to try to breach the fencing and to gain access to the site’ is a factually incorrect representation of what happened.
According to Frack Free Lancashire, ‘around 15-25 individuals accessed the site of their own accord via an already-present breach in the hedge. A large number of people gathered at the site entrance in a peaceful presence for the blessing, as is our right to do so. No fencing was “breached”. A loose Heras fence panel was pushed over, however, but there was an unnecessarily oppressive line of police and security guards blocking Cuadrilla’s site. It is not surprising people feel disenfranchised and enraged about the blatant facilitation by a Conservative government of an industry that was democratically refused entry to our county.’
No arrests were made during the protest.
According to Frack Free Lancashire: “After a week of us dealing with printed untruths by The Daily Telegraph with a resulting ongoing investigation by the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the quote now appears as if Cuadrilla themselves spoke it. Frack Free Lancashire will not accept such distortions of the truth without redressing the balance. We will seek to engage with the police this week and request an official amendment of their claims.
“Overall, our National Rally day was a magnificent and peaceful event, where all age groups gathered in solidarity for family-friendly fun, with many pledges of support from individuals and organisations to join with us from now on, in our rapidly growing resistance against an unwanted fracking industry with no social license.”
