12 December 2015
The fight for local democracy starts here in the Fylde
Ben Wallace the Conservative MP for Wyre sent out an election leaflet this year stating “If you vote Labour you will get gas storage”. Only a matter of weeks into the new Conservative administration the Halite gas storage scheme at Preesall in Lancashire was given the go ahead. Not by the local decision makers who had thrown this controversial scheme out 4 times, but by government officials in London who over ruled localism and common sense.
The precedent set by the Health and Safety Executive at Stublach in Cheshire, was that the storage caverns should be no nearer than 300 meters from a geological fault. This has been completely ignored here in Lancashire, with 1 cavern less than 100 meters from the geological fault. This seems a blatant disregard for safety, and the local environment in this government’s dash for gas. The Blackpool and Fylde Green Party cannot support this position, and will do everything it can in the fight for common sense to prevail.
The announcement that the fracking decisions will be treated in the same way, sent shock waves through the Fylde. After so much effort had been put into the historic victory for local people and local democracy, many residents of the Fylde feel let down and betrayed by a government who sit in 2 very safe seats in the Wyre and the Fylde.
With multiple geological faults in the Fylde, the case for having fracking and gas storage seems very flawed. The question needs answering, why are the safety distances from geological fault lines so much less in Lancashire storage cavern’s than those in Cheshire? We should also ask the question, is local democracy now just an aspiration of where we want to get to instead of being a given? Is the master plan for the Fylde coast a sacrifice zone?
John Warnock.
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