Within Power Lies Shame!

Part 1 - To West Drayton and beyond

Nine protesters climbed one chimney and six climbed another

During the early hours of an October morning in 2012 a group of people scaled two eighty metre high chimneys at the EDF owned West Burton gas-fired power station. Sixteen members of the campaign group "No Dash for Gas" camped on circular metal balconies running around the top of the chimneys for seven days; "the longest occupation of a power station in UK history".

Prior to undertaking the protest the activists understood they would have to face the legal consequences of their actions. However, in addition to the subsequently overturned punishment handed down by the court the activists were also faced with a £5 million lawsuit, equating to £238,000 each, from the energy giant EDF as plans to sue the protesters got underway.

One of the activists described the ensuing publicity from three weeks of campaigning as "a public outcry" further adding, "EDF's lawyers approached the campaigners offering to withdraw the lawsuit before formally surrendering". With Hannah Davey, a member of the protest group, expressing relief the lawsuit had been dropped in an interview with the Huffington Post stating "For all their power, for all their access and all their wealth, EDF's bullying lawsuit has bitten the dust because people power fought back. They thought they were taking on 21 of us, but they soon faced a movement that stood with us against an energy giant and its lawyers."

Davey explained that 64,000 people had signed a petition objecting to the lawsuit and that EDF were worried the negative publicity would mean existing customers would switch to alternative suppliers. With fellow campaigner Danielle Paffard, who "studied at Wadham College, Oxford and whose father Roger used to be chief executive of Thorntons, the High Street chocolatier, and stationery giant Staples", adding "EDF has sustained an unmitigated defeat. Our campaign to expose the lie behind the new dash for gas will continue, with a growing movement and new allies..."

What the activists failed to admit when misleadingly describing the "humiliating climb-down" is that EDF dropped the civil action as part of a settlement with the protesters which the company went on to describe as a "fair and reasonable solution". Adding "Following an offer we received from the protesters' lawyers to settle the civil case, EDF Energy has been working to agree a compromise agreement acceptable to both parties...".

The agreement "to drop the claim on the proviso that the members of No Dash For Gas accepted a permanent injunction which prevents them from entering multiple sites operated by EDF Energy" was accepted by both parties.

The question we are asking ourselves however, is surely, with all the support the activists claimed to have received they would have had the courage of their convictions and raised the money to pay off the debt or, in a more morally appropriate stance, convinced customers in their thousands to leave EDF for an alternative supplier thereby forcing the company into an unconditional climb down?

It appears if you fear your actions will result in your personal suffering through the loss of your home or being forced to pay a percentage of your earnings until your debt is paid off or you are declared bankrupt you suddenly become open to a deal with the 'enemy'. 

Opposition to Cuadrilla from Balcombe's Residents Grows

In 2012 Cuadrilla Resources Limited (Cuadrilla) announced it was applying for a licence to drill a test well and then possibly, if tests proved successful, undertake hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for petroleum near the village of Balcombe in West Sussex. A local protest group was formed and opposition began to build against Cuadrilla. A survey of residents conducted by Balcombe Parish Council in 2012 resulted in 82% of those responding expressing their opposition to fracking, with the top issue for the majority being cited as an increase in road traffic through the village.

As national interest began to increase ad hoc camping sites started to spring up to accommodate the influx of activists, celebrities, politicians and first time protesters descending on the village.

The first two weeks of August 2013 saw the campaign grow even larger with the third week seeing around 1,000 extra people join the protesters as the 'Battle for Balcombe' intensified.

Plans had been laid by Reclaim the Power, a group formed out of No Dash for Gas and working in partnership with them, to once more hold a protest camp at Nottinghamshire's West Burton power station. However, the camp was moved to Cuadrilla's hydraulic fracturing (fracking) site at Balcombe ..."in response to a call out for support from the local community resisting Cuadrilla's plans to frack".

Nowhere in any of the publicity surrounding the change of venue can The Green Wash authors find any reference to the legal agreement reached between EDF and the activists being given as the reason for the change of venue. However, the far more publicly acceptable but seemingly spurious "response to a call out from residents" was instead cited as the thinking behind the alteration.

The highly charged week of protest saw, along with other campaigners against unconventional petroleum extraction, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas arrested. This is the first time The Green Wash authors can find Green Party links to the campaign group Reclaim the Power recorded, with an article in the Express stating that more "than 30 people were arrested at the Reclaim the Power camp, organised by No Dash For Gas, including former Green Party leader and Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas".

The campaign at Balcombe was highly successful with many high profile celebrities opposed to fracking joining local residents, national and international activists and first time protesters. Sheer numbers anticipated at Balcombe between 16 and 21 August 2013 forced the police to advise Cuadrilla to cease their drilling activities for week ending 22 August, the expected height of the protests and the week of the pre-announced Reclaim the Power camp. The decision caused an outcry from politicians and pro-frackers with the Conservative Government of the day stating this type of "mob rule" would never be allowed to occur again.

As bitter divisions began to show, both during and after the campaign, local residents started to complain about what had happened to their community with the BBC reporting one resident describing the protest as leaving the village both "scarred" and "divided".

Alison Stevenson, the chairwoman of the parish council at the time, told the BBC all this has left the village "bitter". Adding "It has left scars that will be there for a long time, it has divided the village into new Balcombe and old Balcombe." Ms Stevenson also said "the protests, which began in July and resulted in dozens of people being arrested, including Green MP Caroline Lucas, split the village into "three camps".

"There are people who are pro-drilling, people who are anti-drilling and people who we call 'anti-antis', those who are simply opposed to the protesters."

"I believe the 'anti-antis' form the majority of Balcombe residents."

With yet more Balcombe residents concerned about Cuadrilla's drilling plans reporting they originally welcomed the protesters but were left feeling ..."that their village has been hijacked". With retired hairdresser Lorna Simmonds adding “What started as something we wanted to do ourselves has become totally different. I don’t agree with fracking but I don’t agree with what is going on either. Everybody seems to be jumping on the bandwagon.”

With the article carrying on to further add that "even among some of the more established protesters there is a degree of hostility towards the new arrivals [Reclaim the Power]. In the main camp – where alcohol is banned – a group of druids mutter darkly around their fire, complaining of the rowdiness and drinking at the Reclaim the Power site. Their camp appears to have established a much better relationship with locals. Groups of residents regularly visit after work, some have brought their children along for story-telling sessions, others have even offered their homes to those wanting showers".

Another resident and campaigner desperate to stop fracking, Sasha Conway, a former Marks & Spencer assistant manager, who had been at the main site for one week prior to and one week during Reclaim the Power's week of protest tactfully sympathising with fellow community members stated “I do agree that some residents’ voices have been swallowed up in all this”.

The Green Wash authors recognise the very real threat to communities, wildlife, environment and infrastructure the process of unconventional drilling posseses, and that it must be opposed. However, the majority of communities that have experienced anti-fracking protest camps have been left divided with many local residents feeling totally disillusioned by the behaviour of activists and members of campaign groups such as Reclaim the Power.