Court D-day looms over Fylde coast fracking

The Preston New Road Action Group will challenge the Secretary of State for Communities, Sajid Javid on allowing Cuadrilla to test frack for gas at Little Plumpton.

The case will be heard in Manchester starting on March 15.

The group said it believed the Secretary of State was wrong to intervene in favour of Cuadrilla since the local parish council, Fylde Council and Lancashire County Council rejected the application.

Group spokesman Claire Stephenson said: “The scientific evidence and testimonies presented by our community and expert witnesses clearly demonstrated harm from noise, risk to the environment and our health, with unmitigable waste management issues.

“We find this decision entirely unacceptable, fundamentally flawed and we seek to demonstrate this within a court setting.”

Meanwhile, fracking supporters have complained about protests on Monday where eight people were charged with breaching section 14 of the public order act.

A Lancashire For Shale spokesman said the closure of the busy A583 caused disruption. He said: “Unplanned road closures can have an obvious and negative economic impact by delaying or preventing the delivery of goods and services that residents and businesses have purchased, such as online grocery orders.”

Anti-frackers yesterday held a demo at the CRH Plant premises in Ashton, near Wigan.