Three major developments in the fight against fracking happened recently. First of all, oil and gas exploration and production company Cuadrilla have applied for final consent to frack at Preston New Road site. Secondly, the Conservative government are proposing to take planning consent out of local council’s hands so that shale gas exploration will be considered a ‘permitted development‘. Thirdly, Cuadrilla have resorted to desperate legal measures in an attempt to stop the peaceful protest: a judge at the High Court in Manchester allowed an application by the company to prohibit trespass and obstruction at and near the site at Preston New Road.
Despite of this, over the next three months Lancashire anti-fracking groups are organising a United Resistance of Love and Defiance to counter Cuadrilla’s dangerous fracking plans at Preston New Road. As part of the three-month protest, Reclaim the Power will be holding Block Around the Clock – the most swinging mass action camp Cuadrilla has ever seen, organized in solidarity with the Lancashire community and in order to take action to prevent fracking from starting. They invite everyone to join them, and especially those who have never taken part in the thing of this sort before. The event page is here.
Accorging to the Reclaim the Power statement, “For 48 hours we’ll be holding the frontline against fracking. In our hundreds and thousands, we’ll be preventing work from happening with our presence and sending a clear message to the frackers they are not welcome – not here, not anywhere. We’re bringing our bodies, our love and our creativity back to Preston New Road this Summer. To make it happen we’ll need everyone’s talents, skills, energy and resolve.”
Some practical info: The action is planned from 27th June to 1st July. if you are planning to attend, please make sure you arrive by the evening of Wednesday 27th June to get briefed. The action will begin on Thursday 28th June, and will culminate with the United Resistance Promenade Parade along the iconic Blackpool seafront on Saturday afternoon (30th June).
There are no restrictions on anyone attending camp or participating in the eclectic program of workshops, but if you have concerns, a team delivering ace legal briefings to make sure everyone knows their rights will be present.
Read more at Reclaim the Power website.