Ahead of County elections due to take place on 2 May, anti-fracking demonstrators have organised a gathering in Preston.
Today (20 April) members will gather by the County Hall at 11.30am before walking up to the Flag Market for a midday public meeting.
The Frack-Free Lancashire Demo has been organised to remind voters that Councillors elected in the upcoming Lancashire County Council elections will later this year be deciding whether fracking for shale gas continues in Lancashire.
Fracking is a technique where chemicals and water are pumped at high pressure into shale rock to extract gas. Fracking opponents are concerned about possible contamination of polluted waste water once it has been used in the fracking process.
The anti-fracking movement says that there is a solid body of evidence that strongly supports the case for opposing fracking in terms of the environmental, economic and energy need aspects.
Lancashire was chosen as a prime site for fracking by Cuadrilla. Their Chief Executive Francis Egan has delayed work until full Environmental Impact Assessments have been completed. Cuadrilla says the market value of gas in Lancashire’s Bowland basin alone could be as much as £136bn.
Drill rigs owed by Cuadrilla have been stationed in fields near the Ribble Estuary ahead of drilling attempts to frack the first horizontal shale well in the country. The work has currently been suspended.
The anti-fracking demo, which should last until 4pm, follows recent news of the UK’s first fracking leak – at Coal Bed Methane (CBM) wells near Canonbie in Scotland.
What do you think of fracking? Do you think fracking could change the face of Lancashire forever? Let us know in the comments below.