“Ban fracking in Warrington” says campaigner

FRACKING should be banned in Warrington, according to former Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition councillor Kevin Bennett.
He wants the borough council to take a stand against fracking anywhere in the borough – and to fight for public ownership of energy and mass investment in green technology.
Mr Bennett who was a Labour councillor at Warrington until quitting to join TUSC was reacting to the Government’s decision to give horizontal fracking the go-ahead.
He said: “Fracking is destructive wherever it happens. Anti-fracking
campaigners must call for a ban on it everywhere – not just, as some prominent activists are demanding, in places of scenic beauty”.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has approved plans for fracking at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire.
A second site, Roseacre Wood, has not yet been given the green light amid concerns over the impact on the area.
Mr Bennett said: “The Tory government has once again come down on the side of ‘big business’ and ignored the will of the people.
“Studies have found that in other countries, the shale gas extraction method has poisoned water supplies and heightened earthquake risk.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Pollyanna Steiner said the decision was  a “betrayal of local people”
She said: “Fracking goes against everything we need to do to tackle climate change. The government must end its fixation with dirty fossil fuels and focus instead on harnessing the UK’s huge renewable energy resource.”