Defiant residents who fought off the threat of a massive underground gas storage facility being built on the Fylde coast say they are ready for a new battle.

What do you think? Leave your messages to Canatxx below.

American gas giant Canatxx today told The Gazette it will submit a
"revised" application for the controversial scheme on land near to the River Wyre "as soon as possible".

It comes just eight months after the Government rejected the company's plans to store more than one million tonnes of natural gas in hollowed out salt caverns at Preesall.

Campaigners celebrate Canatxx victory- with video

A Canatxx spokesman said: "There are plans to submit a revised application."

Asked how soon the new proposals could be submitted, the spokesman added: "As soon as possible."

He declined to make further comment.

The statement has been met with puzzlement by those who fought Canatxx's original scheme.

Canatxx power giant: We will not appeal

Wyre MP Ben Wallace said: "I think they (Canatxx) have a lot of work to do and a lot to reconcile before they can re-submit an application.

"But no matter what they do I shall fight with the community to protect Over Wyre and the environment. If they do submit another application, we will face them head on again and again until they get the message."

Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, rejected Canatxx's original plans last October.

Her decision came after a damning report by the Planning Inspectorate said the company had failed to allay fears over safety and environmental impact.

Campaigners said they believed the plans were dead in the water and could not understand Canatxx's new stance.

Rollercoaster of a ride to victory

June Jackson, a Stalmine Parish councillor and farmer in the area, who made her own campaign against the plans at a public inquiry, said: "You only have to look at the assessors report and what Hazel Blears said last time to realise this is a non-starter.

"The bottom line is you cannot alter the geology of the area – it's simply not safe."

Howard Phillips, vice chairman of the Protect Wyre group, added: "The inspector at the inquiry said Canatxx would have to do an awful lot of work to show it would be safe if they were to submit another
application. As far as I'm aware, that has not yet happened.

"We will have to wait and see if they do, but no doubt we will fight and oppose it if it does happen."

A public inquiry was held between October 2005 and May 2006 after which
a full report on the original application, submitted in 2002, was compiled by a Government Planning Inspector.

Canatxx admitted they had discussed with its legal team appealing the Government's refusal.

A spokesman told The Gazette last December: "We have been advised by
senior counsel there are some elements of the Secretary of State's decision letter that could be subject to challenge, but that it was very unlikely that a court would quash the Secretary of State's decision."

More than 11,000 Wyre residents signed a petition against Canatxx's
original plans.

To see all our archive stories about Canatxx click here