Photos from last Sunday's Frack Off event at Farndon where Dart Energy is drilling for coal bed methane. Before the end of the day, a camp had been established on the grass verge near the site gates.
Beware! Drilling for coal bed methane, shale gas and other extreme energy exploration may well be coming to a site near you very soon. More on the Farndon events in this earlier report and photos.
The drilling rig
fracking health warning
mums, dads and kids
listening to the speakers
no to cbm
with love from stockport
solidarity knitting
don't frack with us
tea and cake for donations
andy hickie
laura leigh dickenson
bez
know your rights
solidarity from romania
choose life
wales rising up
debating with workers inside
protect and survive
starting to set up the camp
tent up
Sunday 16th March
Over 200 people converged last Sunday on the site at Kingsmarsh near the village of Farndon on the English/Welsh border. A few are now camping there, supported by local residents and others living under threat of drilling and fracking in their nearby areas; many residents of Cheshire, north-east Wales and beyond are now organising in local groups. There was an impressive selection of imaginative placards and banners on display; a couple of vans with mics provided amplification for speeches (from local and national campaigners and some reading of solidarity messages) and for music including songs from Andy Hickie and Laura Leigh Dickenson (Wrexham). A donations-based tea and cake stall and a van serving meals for donations kept everyone fed for the day; the two face painters never stopped. The policing was low key. Many people ventured round the fenced drilling enclosure for a closer look and to engage with the security guys and rig workers. The overall mood was upbeat in the spring sunshine.
Public meetings
Tonight, 19th March, a public meeting will be held in Farndon's Memorial Hall at 7.30pm. Another public meeting will be held next Tuesday 25th March at the Kenyon Hall at 7.30pm in the neighbouring village of Holt, close to another of Dart Energy's potential CBM/fracking or worse sites in Borras, Wrexham. A decision on planning permission for exploratory drilling at that site was recently deferred by Wrexham Council for reasons that included the very real worry that there will be drilling all over the place around Wrexham if this test site is allowed to go ahead. Other nearby test sites include Upton near Chester, Kinnerton between Hope and Chester, and Shocklach near Malpas.
Please support the camp
More support is needed at the camp, so please get there if you can, to stay or during the day. Site postcode is CH3 6NF. The drilling rig can clearly be seen from the main A534 Wrexham to Broxton road and the lane is marked by a sign for Kingsmarsh B&B and there may be a tent or two opposite the end of the lane. The main camp is up the lane near the site entrance. For more information, contact frackfreefardon [AT] hotmail.com.
More photos in this flickr set.