An environmental campaigner has failed in his High Court action to temporarily block energy firm Cuadrilla from fracking in Lancashire.
Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan had described the challenge as “a last gasp attempt at trying to frustrate the process.”
Previously Bob Dennett, who brought the case and had raised over £12,000 towards his legal costs, said: “This case has been made to safeguard the lives and wellbeing of thousands of local residents and businesses, including schoolchildren, in the event of the need to evacuate the area in the vicinity of the Preston New Road fracking site in Lancashire.”
If drilling is allowed and the operation is a success up to 20 wells could be built on the site.
In the lead up to the case Connor Schwartz, Friends of the Earth campaigner, said: “The risks of fracking are well-known and it’s only right that local people raise their concerns about safety at the Lancashire site.
“In a week in which the scale of action needed to avert climate chaos has dominated the headlines, isn’t it time the industry and the Government walk away from fracking and invest in a renewable energy future instead?”
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