CPRE Chichester District responded strongly to an application by Celtique Energie for "exploratory drilling" for shale gas exploration at Kirdford, West Sussex. (WSCC/083/13/KD).
In the response, Richard Hill of Chichester District warned of potential risks to the local environment, to risks from groundwater pollution and stated that: "the result will be the inevitable destruction of the present quality of life of most residents living near each site."
Download the application and the response below.
In response to Defra's Consultation on the applicability of integrated pollution prevention and control to onshore oil exploration activities, CPRE Sussex have teamed up with CPRE Kent and CPRE Hampshire to respond to the proposal to limit the Environmental Permitting Regulations to effectively exclude onshore exploration.
CPRE's Response to Weald Shale Gas Report: "We need more guarantees"
The British Geological Survey released a press release on 23 May 2014 unveiling their findings that report estimates that the Weald Basin, a vast area covering around 3,500 square miles in the south including Sussex and the South Downs National Park, could contain between 2.2-8.5billion barrels of oil, equivalent to 290-1,100million tonnes. Read the British Geological Survey Report [PDF].
CPRE (Sussex) will join local groups including Campaign for Better Transport, Sussex Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Earth at a demonstration against damaging road expansion timed to coincide with a parallel meeting of the ‘A27 Action Campaign’- West Sussex County Council, other local authorities, MPs and business leaders lobbying for new roads on Thursday 26 June.
CPRE (Sussex) fears that damaging road proposals could emerge out of a government study  including a bypass at Arundel and a dual carriageway between Polegate and Lewes which could destroy cherished countryside and threaten the South Downs National Park.
Georgia Wrighton, Director of CPRE Sussex said “Our CPRE Sussex Countryside Charter calls for positive investment in sustainable transport, prioritising faster and direct access by rail as the responsible way to better connect Sussex. Plans for unnecessarily damaging road expansion on the A27 should be relegated to government archives where they belong.
17 May saw Billingshurst Community Centre buzzing with campaigning groups, CPRE members and local people fired up in their shared love of the Sussex countryside and their desire to protect it. Local campaigning groups’ stalls lined the hall, showcasing their cause whether to protect against a second runway at Gatwick, stop a new town being built in unspoilt Sussex countryside near Haywards Heath or to register residents’ opposition against Fracking in West Sussex. Inspiring speakers from Hands Off Henfield and Locals Against Mayfields Building Sprawl (LAMBS) shared their campaigning stories and top tips for successful grass roots mobilisation against the loss of cherished countryside.
CPRE (Sussex) fears that damaging road proposals could emerge out of a government study including a bypass at Arundel and a dual carriageway between Polegate and Lewes which could destroy cherished countryside and threaten the South Downs National Park.
The West Sussex County Times published the following letter by CPRE representative Dr Roger F Smith.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) today (Tuesday) raises the alarm about Government proposals that would exclude smaller scale shale oil exploration from environmental regulation. A consultation by the Government, which closed yesterday, proposes the removal of its ability and responsibility to regulate smaller scale, but potentially hazardous, onshore oil exploration under the ‘Environmental Permitting Regulations’.