Anti-Frackers Vow Fierce Resistance as UK Goes Back 'Up for Shale'
North Yorkshire council's "appalling" decision comes just days after UK celebrated five years "frack-free."
Furious environmental campaigners vowed to fight back on Tuesday after councilors in North Yorkshire approved the UK's first fracking permit in five years.
The North Yorkshire County Council on Monday approved Third Energy's application to frack the fields near the North York Moors National Park--just days after people across the country celebrated five years of being "frack-free."
"It's what happens now that matters. This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
--Sarah Hockey, East Yorkshire
According to The Independent, "the application was passed despite the presence of hundreds of protestors, who gathered outside County Hall in Northallerton throughout the hearing which began on Friday."
In fact, a council planning officer said there had been 4,375 letters of objection and 36 of support for the application.
"It is just appalling that despite the strength of public opposition to this application it has been pushed through by councilors, who are being told what to do by a government that is determined to support the fracking industry," declared Ian Conlan from local campaign group Frack Free Ryedale. "What faith can local people have in democracy if the members of the planning committee can just completely ignore both the strength of local opinion and the sound planning grounds that objectors have raised? It is a sham."
Furthermore, said Green MEP Keith Taylor, "Councils in North Yorkshire will now find it more difficult to reject future fracking applications. This could result in hundreds of wells across Ryedale and the industrialization of North Yorkshire's precious countryside. The decision is also likely to send the message that Britain is 'up for shale' to other local authorities in England and the wider fracking industry."
Indeed, he added, the announcement "will also be welcomed by a government so determined to fast-track this dangerous industry that it is prepared to overrule authorities that wish to remain frack-free."
The Guardian reports:
The council's decision on Monday was met with chants of "We say no" and "You will be held accountable".
"It is a war, now, they've declared on us," said Sarah Hockey, an anti-fracking campaigner from east Yorkshire. "It's a war on our human rights to clean air and water so we've got to take it like that and keep pushing and pushing and pushing.
"It's what happens now that matters," said Hockey, a teacher. "This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
Friends of the Earth, which called the decision "a travesty," said it is considering legal action along with Frack Free Ryedale.
The two groups together on Tuesday launched a "People's Declaration" against fracking, which reads in part:
We, as people united across Yorkshire and across Britain, declare that we remain opposed to fracking in Yorkshire, in Britain, and across the world. We know that fracking carries serious risks to local people, to our health, our water, our wildlife, and contributes to climate change.
We are extremely disappointed that North Yorkshire County Council has not listened to the overwhelming wishes of the locally elected representatives of Ryedale and local people and has approved Third Energy's application to frack in our county.
This decision is not in our name.
As local resident Sue Gough said on Monday: "We have fought and will continue to fight fracking for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and future generations."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Furious environmental campaigners vowed to fight back on Tuesday after councilors in North Yorkshire approved the UK's first fracking permit in five years.
The North Yorkshire County Council on Monday approved Third Energy's application to frack the fields near the North York Moors National Park--just days after people across the country celebrated five years of being "frack-free."
"It's what happens now that matters. This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
--Sarah Hockey, East Yorkshire
According to The Independent, "the application was passed despite the presence of hundreds of protestors, who gathered outside County Hall in Northallerton throughout the hearing which began on Friday."
In fact, a council planning officer said there had been 4,375 letters of objection and 36 of support for the application.
"It is just appalling that despite the strength of public opposition to this application it has been pushed through by councilors, who are being told what to do by a government that is determined to support the fracking industry," declared Ian Conlan from local campaign group Frack Free Ryedale. "What faith can local people have in democracy if the members of the planning committee can just completely ignore both the strength of local opinion and the sound planning grounds that objectors have raised? It is a sham."
Furthermore, said Green MEP Keith Taylor, "Councils in North Yorkshire will now find it more difficult to reject future fracking applications. This could result in hundreds of wells across Ryedale and the industrialization of North Yorkshire's precious countryside. The decision is also likely to send the message that Britain is 'up for shale' to other local authorities in England and the wider fracking industry."
Indeed, he added, the announcement "will also be welcomed by a government so determined to fast-track this dangerous industry that it is prepared to overrule authorities that wish to remain frack-free."
The Guardian reports:
The council's decision on Monday was met with chants of "We say no" and "You will be held accountable".
"It is a war, now, they've declared on us," said Sarah Hockey, an anti-fracking campaigner from east Yorkshire. "It's a war on our human rights to clean air and water so we've got to take it like that and keep pushing and pushing and pushing.
"It's what happens now that matters," said Hockey, a teacher. "This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
Friends of the Earth, which called the decision "a travesty," said it is considering legal action along with Frack Free Ryedale.
The two groups together on Tuesday launched a "People's Declaration" against fracking, which reads in part:
We, as people united across Yorkshire and across Britain, declare that we remain opposed to fracking in Yorkshire, in Britain, and across the world. We know that fracking carries serious risks to local people, to our health, our water, our wildlife, and contributes to climate change.
We are extremely disappointed that North Yorkshire County Council has not listened to the overwhelming wishes of the locally elected representatives of Ryedale and local people and has approved Third Energy's application to frack in our county.
This decision is not in our name.
As local resident Sue Gough said on Monday: "We have fought and will continue to fight fracking for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and future generations."
Furious environmental campaigners vowed to fight back on Tuesday after councilors in North Yorkshire approved the UK's first fracking permit in five years.
The North Yorkshire County Council on Monday approved Third Energy's application to frack the fields near the North York Moors National Park--just days after people across the country celebrated five years of being "frack-free."
"It's what happens now that matters. This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
--Sarah Hockey, East Yorkshire
According to The Independent, "the application was passed despite the presence of hundreds of protestors, who gathered outside County Hall in Northallerton throughout the hearing which began on Friday."
In fact, a council planning officer said there had been 4,375 letters of objection and 36 of support for the application.
"It is just appalling that despite the strength of public opposition to this application it has been pushed through by councilors, who are being told what to do by a government that is determined to support the fracking industry," declared Ian Conlan from local campaign group Frack Free Ryedale. "What faith can local people have in democracy if the members of the planning committee can just completely ignore both the strength of local opinion and the sound planning grounds that objectors have raised? It is a sham."
Furthermore, said Green MEP Keith Taylor, "Councils in North Yorkshire will now find it more difficult to reject future fracking applications. This could result in hundreds of wells across Ryedale and the industrialization of North Yorkshire's precious countryside. The decision is also likely to send the message that Britain is 'up for shale' to other local authorities in England and the wider fracking industry."
Indeed, he added, the announcement "will also be welcomed by a government so determined to fast-track this dangerous industry that it is prepared to overrule authorities that wish to remain frack-free."
The Guardian reports:
The council's decision on Monday was met with chants of "We say no" and "You will be held accountable".
"It is a war, now, they've declared on us," said Sarah Hockey, an anti-fracking campaigner from east Yorkshire. "It's a war on our human rights to clean air and water so we've got to take it like that and keep pushing and pushing and pushing.
"It's what happens now that matters," said Hockey, a teacher. "This is just the beginning. I believe there's a lot more that people can do. It's boots on the ground that's going to stop this now."
Friends of the Earth, which called the decision "a travesty," said it is considering legal action along with Frack Free Ryedale.
The two groups together on Tuesday launched a "People's Declaration" against fracking, which reads in part:
We, as people united across Yorkshire and across Britain, declare that we remain opposed to fracking in Yorkshire, in Britain, and across the world. We know that fracking carries serious risks to local people, to our health, our water, our wildlife, and contributes to climate change.
We are extremely disappointed that North Yorkshire County Council has not listened to the overwhelming wishes of the locally elected representatives of Ryedale and local people and has approved Third Energy's application to frack in our county.
This decision is not in our name.
As local resident Sue Gough said on Monday: "We have fought and will continue to fight fracking for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and future generations."