Campaigners protest fracking in the Downs

Last week (June 26), Greenpeace activists occupied the entrance to the South Downs National Park Authority building in Midhurst ahead of their AGM.

Campaigners set up a Not For Shale mock real estate roadshow in front of the HQ’s main entrance, featuring four-metre-tall flags and a large map of the South Downs Park and surrounding area showing the level of opposition to fracking.

The protest came just weeks before South Downs National Park Authority is set to become the first authority to decide whether to grant planning permission for shale exploration in the area.

Recent Greenpeace polling showed two thirds of people in Sussex are against fracking, and three-quarters feel there needs to be more debate before any drilling occurs.

Energy extraction company, Celtique, has applied for permission to drill in the National Park.

Greenpeace has launched a crowd-sourced investigation into Celtique’s fracking plans, and are appealing to the people of Sussex and the South Downs to send any information they have to a confidential email account, [email protected].

Greenpeace UK energy campaigner Simon Clydesdale said: “We need to fight back against companies and authorities who are trying to quite literally undermine the property and rights of people across the South Downs and Sussex, putting both the local environment and the climate at risk.

“If you’ve got an idea of where the next frack pad might be, or anything else you think we should know, email us at [email protected] - all emails will be treated confidentiality.”

More than 14,500 South Downs residents have expressed their opposition to fracking by signing up to a Greenpeace legal block against under-house drilling.