No Dash for Gas has warned Cuadrilla, and other companies involved in exploratory drilling for potential shale gas reserves, they are planning a “different range of diverse protests” at other drilling sites across the UK.
Speaking to Utility Week, Ewa Jafiewicz, a protest organiser for No Dash for Gas, said: “There are 45 local community groups that have sprung up in response to drilling license being granted in their areas and we’ve quite a wide network and we would like to support those groups.”
She also added that while today is the last of the six days of the protest camp, they “plan to have a committed presence” at the Balcombe site.
She said that the protest had been a “massive success” because “we arrived and they immediately backed down it just showed that we have a really deterrent effect on this company.”
A spokesman for Cuadrilla said they expected drilling to restart at the Balcombe site “soon” and “when it is safe to do so” after the company scaled back operations as a response to the protest camp.
He acknowledged the protesters had “slowed work down on site” but added: “Staff morale is still fine and we’re looking forward to continuing with the work and completing the exploration work at Balcombe.”
He added that Cuadrilla was “not too worried” about the threat of further protests “so we’ll keep on working”.