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Balcombe oil drilling begins after anti-fracking protests cause delay
Posted by Guardian: Robert Booth on August 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Drilling for oil close to the West Sussex village of Balcombe has begun following a week of blockades and protests by anti-fracking activists who fear that the possible use of the extraction method could lead to the pollution of water courses. Cuadrilla, the oil and gas exploration company headed by the former BP boss Lord Browne, said work started at around 11.30am on Friday and drills would penetrate more than 900 metres (3,000ft) into the Sussex shale to test for the availability of oil reserves....
UK: Anti-Fracking Protesters Halt Sussex Shale Gas Operation
Posted by Guardian: Robert Booth on July 25th, 2013
Guardian: Anti-fracking campaigners claimed a surprise victory on Thursday against attempts to extract oil in the home counties.
Dozens of protesters blockaded a drill site outside the West Sussex village of Balcombe. The drill was operated by Cuadrilla, the energy company headed by former BP chief Lord Browne.
Earlier in the day, the Department for Energy granted a drilling permit for the site to Cuadrilla, which also operates hydraulic fracturing rigs in Lancashire. It is looking for oil in the Sussex...
Prince Charles to challenge ban on farmland housing
Posted by Guardian: Robert Booth on January 19th, 2011
Guardian: He claims to be "the defender of nature", but Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy after it emerged that he will challenge a decision preventing his Duchy of Cornwall property empire from building 2,000 homes over green fields.
The Duchy will attempt to resist Bath council's draft policy that would prevent, on environmental grounds, plans for what would be a highly profitable estate near the historic city. It wants to build on farmland that provides meat to local schools and villages in a scheme...