Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
A Blog About Human Rights
UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights
5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights
Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights
Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights
Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights Human Rights in Ireland >>
News Round-Up Fri Apr 19, 2024 01:20 | Richard Eldred A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Scandal of the Thousands Sacked for Wrongthink Thu Apr 18, 2024 19:00 | C.J. Strachan In the wake of the Cass Report vindicating critics of child gender transition, a workplace survey reveals that millions of British workers may have been sacked for falling foul of woke ideology.
The post The Scandal of the Thousands Sacked for Wrongthink appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Let?s Spare the Environment From the Greens Thu Apr 18, 2024 17:00 | Alan Bunce From the 3,200 acre solar farm built on prime green belt farmland in Oxford to the 16 million Scottish trees felled to make way for wind farms, somehow we have to save the environment from the greens, says Alan Bunce.
The post Let’s Spare the Environment From the Greens appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Insane World of Intersectional Climate Change Thu Apr 18, 2024 15:00 | Steven Tucker Why are the mainstream media suddenly desperate to spuriously link climate change to unrelated woke issues like transgenderism? 'Intersectionality' is to blame for the insanity, says Steven Tucker.
The post The Insane World of Intersectional Climate Change appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Electric Car Demand Plunges Across Europe Thu Apr 18, 2024 13:00 | Will Jones Electric car sales plummeted by 11.3% across Europe last month, rising to 29% in Germany, as demand dried up despite the EU's push to ban petrol and diesel vehicles by the middle of the next decade.
The post Electric Car Demand Plunges Across Europe appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
The cost of war, by Manlio Dinucci Wed Apr 17, 2024 04:12 | en
Angela Merkel and François Hollande's crime against peace, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Apr 16, 2024 06:58 | en
Iranian response to attack on its consulate in Damascus could lead to wider warf... Fri Apr 12, 2024 13:36 | en
Is the possibility of a World War real?, by Serge Marchand , Thierry Meyssan Tue Apr 09, 2024 08:06 | en
Netanyahu's Masada syndrome and the UN report by Francesca Albanese, by Alfredo ... Sun Apr 07, 2024 07:53 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Fracking arrives on the island of Ireland
InfraStrata begin drilling in Woodburn Forest, Co. Antrim
Woodburn Forest near Carrickfergus in County Antrim has become the site of the first operational fracking rig on the island of Ireland. On Monday 16 May InfraStrata PLC began to drill, seeking to confirm a viable oil find which will pave the way for large scale extraction. Community campaigners continue to resist and all support is welcome on the site to stop the drilling while one local mounts a legal challenge. Fracking has come to the island of Ireland. InfraStrata PLC are targeting the community of Woodburn Forest, Antrim, for oil extraction using the controversial drilling technology being banned across the world.
InfraStrata is a small UK dirty energy company which also holds a licence for underground gas storage facilities at Islandmagee in Antrim.
Local campaigners from the Stop the Drill campaign have been fighting a marathon battle against the company's plans to drill in the forest. The community has had a physical presence in the forest since February, when a protest camp was established.
No planning, no consultation
InfraStrata has been granted permissions to drill through a mechanism known as "Permitted Development Rights" (PDR) which allowed them to by-pass the planning process without any public consultation process. The PDR mechanism is normally used for small scale developments such as minor residential home changes and it is extremely unusual for it to be used for large scale heavy industrial development.
The drilling site has been leased to the company by the public water utility Northern Irish Water, who had previously managed the site as a protected water catchment for over 100 years. The fifty year lease cost the company £1,000.
Woodburn Forest is the location of four water reservoirs which serve the nearby town of Carrickfergus as well as a number of areas of Belfast and communities along the Antrim coast. Three of these reservoirs have been closed as a precautionary measure as drilling gets underway.
There has been a litany of procedural and planning failures by the Northern Irish government and the local authority, Mid and East Antrim Council. The company was granted Permitted Development Rights by default when the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Investment failed act on time to assess the licence.
InfraStrata went on commence works on the site in February without producing a Waste Management Plan for the handling of toxins and dealing with contamination on the sensitive water catchment site. The plan that was subsequently produced, and approved the local authority, contained a number of serious flaws according to a review carried out by Synergy Energy and Environment on behalf of the Stop the Drill campaign
Non-violent direct action
The drill rig arrived through the port of Larne on Monday, and its arrival on-site was delayed by over 6 hours by the non-violent direct action of local community members, including one man in his 60s who locked himself on to the rig when it was stopped by community members who blocked the road.
Up to 100 PSNI officers closed the roads around the forest and refused to allow community members in or out of the site while the dealt with the lock-on. As this blockade progressed, a harp player played in protest for three hours at the police line.
Court case
A member of the local community has sought a judicial review of the process in the Belfast High Court. The court has instructed Mid and East Antrim to review the case by Monday, 16 May, when the council must decide if it believes that the company has breached Permitted Development Rights.
The community do not believe that the council will find against the company as this would be admitting error on its own behalf. Instead, campaigners are preparing to challenge the council's decision through the judicial review.
The date for this review will be set by Thursday, 19 May, but it is hoped that it will take place before the end of May.
Support needed
While the community awaits the judicial review, work on site continues apace and the only thing that can halt fracking is people power on the ground. The community appreciate all support both at the protest camp and online.
The address of the camp is 15 Paisley Road, Carrickfergus, Carrickfergus BT38 9YB, UK.
Visit the Stop the Drill campaign website for full details of the handling of the case by the government, including copies of all available documents and reports: http://www.stopthedrillcampaign.com/.
Caption: Video Id: gSPdZ7Ja0Oc Type: Youtube Video "Stop the Drill" by Ursula Burns
|
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2This sentence from above sums up the attitude to "precious resource" by the private water companies.
Carrickfergus Drill Site in PSNI Lock Down As Protester Chains Himself to huge Oil Rig
http://www.belfastdaily.co.uk/2016/05/09/exclusive-carr...-rig/
Mark, chained on the rig for 6 hours, until he was arrested.
Road Closed
Drill site