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Balcombe anti-frackers vs Cuadrilla

Last year it was Balcombe but now media attention has turned to anti-fracking protests in Barton Moss.

Protesters in Balcombe were actively fighting off applications from energy company Cuadrilla and now Barton Moss is the front line for anti-frackers against IGas.

No cases of fracking have occurred in the UK other than in Lancashire. But last summer saw a particular site in Balcombe vertically drilled at a depth of around 2,350 feet and horizontally for around 1,700 feet. In that same borehole Cuadrilla announced last week that it would not be fracking because the rock is already naturally fractured.

Balcombe is located in West Sussex and once protesters had moved from the site when the drilling was done, they set up their camp outside the council headquarters. Here it is on the map.

What will happen next?

Even with the announcement from Cuadrilla that they would not frack this well, they plan to stay.

A new planning application has been submitted to West Sussex County Council to search for oil in the Micrite formation (instead of the shale).

But drilling in Balcombe still faces stern opposition from anti-frackers across the country – many of whom were first alerted by the debate in this area.

Balcombe Parish Council has details on the planning applications by Cuadrilla last year.