American company Canatxx Gas Storage have submitted an application to Lancashire County Council to store two million tonnes of gas at extremely high pressures under the Wyre Estuary. In a Kafkaesque twist, Wyre Borough Councillors find that they cannot represent the views of the population who elected them.

The plan is to store the gas in caverns in the salt deposits, pumping water down bore holes to dissolve the salt and discharging it into the Irish sea 2.3 km off Rossall school. The gas will be stored in up to twenty caverns each of which will be the size of the London Eye.

According to Thornton Action Group the area is a designated SSSI and damage would be caused to the salt marsh habitat and the bird life on the mud flats. Local councillors have been told by the council they must voice no open support or objection to the proposal prior to the application hearing by Lancashire County Council in March.

Full Story | Thornton Action Group | Wyre Borough Councillors Gagged | Canatxx Scandal