Balcombe day two...

Event: The Great Gas Gala! - Day 3
Location: Lower Stumble, Balcombe, West Sussex
Time: As early as you can get there
Date: Sat 27th

As Day 2 of the Great Gas Gala winds down it's looking like Balcombe 1 -
Cuadrilla 1 with all to play for. The main difference between the
opponents being that the people of Balcombe are fighting for their health
and environment while Cuadrilla is trying to make a quick buck out of
destroying other people's communities. Yesterday more than 250 people
stopped Cuadrilla bringing any equipment onto the site. Today more than 90
police waded in to break up the blockade by force and escort trucks onto
the site.

The camp outside the site is still going strong though, with people
refusing to be intimidated by this police thuggery. People are staying
overnight but more support is needed. Car-loads of people arriving from
all over UK. Come down for the night and weekend! Come now if you can but
if not tomorrow morning as early as you can. Day 3 (Sat) is shaping up to
be the biggest yet in the fight to keep fracking out of Sussex. Battle for
Balcombe far from over!

Cuadrilla need to bring dozens more trucks on to the site to set up their
rig over the next few days and then keep it supplied while they drill.
They had been planning to start drilling by Saturday and have already been
significantly delayed. Drilling would take at least 6 weeks and their
temporary planning permission runs out in September, so they are .

Coming from Brighton? Jump on the FREE Frack Off bus at 9am tomorrow (Sat)
morning at Old Steine bus stop (near RBS).

See [http://greatgasgala.org.uk/] for more details and directions to the
site etc. Please bring essentials such as food, water, and appropriate
clothing/sun protection. Picnics, cakes, tea-making facilities, friends,
banners, games, music, instruments, knitting (yellow and black – gasfield
free community colours!), blankets, chairs, tables, gazebos, small tents,
plastic cutlery/plates. You get the picture. Try to avoid bringing
alcohol, drugs, anything which could be construed as a weapon, glass etc.

Cuadrilla, who are mired in planning issues in Lancashire where their
first test well triggered an earthquake, are seeking to open a second
front in Sussex. Cuadrilla's planned test well at Balcombe would be just
the beginning of a tidal wave of destruction, sweeping across the South
East. The licence blocks held by Cuadrilla and Celtique Energie in Sussex
could see thousands of wells drilled and fracked, plus associated
pipelines, compressor stations and processing plants.

For updates on what happened already see:

* Updates From Great Gas Gala - Day 2
(http://frack-off.org.uk/latest-news-from-great-gas-gala-day-2/)
* Updates From Great Gas Gala - Day 1
(http://frack-off.org.uk/latest-news-from-the-great-gas-gala/)

For an overview of the situation at Balcombe please see these articles:

* Fracking In Balcombe: A Community Says No
(http://frack-off.org.uk/fracking-in-balcombe-a-community-says-no/)
* Fracking Sussex: The Threat Of Shale Oil & Gas
(http://frack-off.org.uk/fracking-sussex-the-threat-of-shale-oil-gas/)