UPDATE (11/03/14, midday): Reports say there'll be no eviction today as the protesters have been granted permission to appeal against their eviction.
FRACKING protesters have been ordered by a judge to vacate from the Barton Moss drilling site in Salford.
They have until midday on Tuesday 11 March to move.
Protesters have continued to voice complaints of ‘over zealous policing’ and elements of police brutality.
Anti-frackers have been camping out at the site since November 2013 when energy company iGas began drilling and testing for shale gas.
iGas are leasing the site from the landowners, Peel Investments, to carry out exploratory drilling. If significant amounts of shale gas are found at the site, iGas could begin a full-scale fracking operation.
Peel Investments requested from Manchester Civil Justice Centre that the campers be evicted as they were causing problems for both locals and police. Arrests at the site number nearly 100, while Greater Manchester Police claim that the cost of policing the site has cost the taxpayer over £700,000.
Protesters are poised to lodge an appeal against the eviction, claiming that Peel have no right to evict them, as they do not own the land on which they are camped.
The wind turbine blade at Barton Moss
There have been a number of widely publicized incidents at the Barton Moss protest camp, descending into a ‘he-said she-said’ battle between protesters and the police.
In December 2013, protesters dumped a seventeen metre long, one and a half tonne wind turbine blade at the entrance to the site.
On 4 January police reported that a protester had fired a flare at a police helicopter and endangered lives – an accusation which the protesters staunchly denied.
On 25 February a police officer was hurt when protesters at the site locked themselves to a ‘booby trapped’ concrete drum filled with barbed wire and broken glass. On the same day a protester in his 50s and on crutches claimed to have suffered spinal injuries after he attempted to mount a moving lorry.
An officer was injured by 'booby trapped' drum
Protesters have continued to voice complaints of ‘over zealous policing’ and elements of police brutality at the Barton Moss site.
In January, protester Sean O’Donnell, 44, released video footage in which he appears to be forced to the ground. Cries of pain can be heard at 8.40mins, while a muddied and bloodied man can be seen at 11.17mins (see here).
Muddied and bloodiedChief Constable Peter Fahy told Confidential: "For all the hundreds of hours of policing we have received only 21 complaints, five of which are from the same person. We take this seriously and will investigate any complaints thoroughly."
Arguments from both sides of the Barton Moss protest are voiced here.
The renewed tensions come after police thanked organisers and attendees of a large-scale and peaceful anti-fracking march which saw over 1000 protesters march through the streets of Manchester city on Sunday 9 March.
No arrests were made.
Peel Group Lease Out Fracking Sites.
MP Graham Stringer, Fracking: Let's Get On With It
Frackers, Flares and Coppers in Choppers: Flare shot at police helicopter
Barton Moss: All Sides Have Their Say
Fracking:
The process of fracking involves sinking wells up to 2km below the surface of the earth and pumping a highly pressurised mixture of water and chemicals into shale rock to extract gas trapped in the rock.
Proponents of fracking argue that it has hugely boosted energy production across the United States, creating tens of thousands of jobs and guaranteeing gas security to the US and Canada for up to 100 years.
But it is also highly controversial, with activists arguing that the process can contaminate groundwater, create earthquakes and divert attention and research away from renewable sources of energy.
