Balcombe Protesters Receive Eviction Order
Protesters against Cuadrilla Resources’ exploratory programme in Southern England have been served with an eviction order on Monday afternoon, but activists are not intentioned to leave their camp outside a potential fracking site in Balcombe, West Sussex.
‘The day has started quietly. Despite media report to the contrary the Council has no powers to evict the camp and would need to go through a court process to try,’ reads a note released on Tuesday on the protesters’ website, in which activists reported also on three arrests.
The camp, which started on July 25, has seen weeks of protests by upwards of 1,000 activists. It saw a visit by the fashion designer Viviane Westwood and the arrest of Caroline Lucas, UK’s only Green Party ‘s MP.
Cuadrilla resumed drilling near the village at the end of August, but the efforts to explore for oil in Balcombe have suffered another blow after it emerged the company may have breached its planning permission by making too much noise