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At least 10 anti-fracking protesters have occupied an office building in Blackpool leased by the energy firm Cuadrilla.
The demonstrators forced their way into the building on an industrial estate near Blackpool airport just before midday on Monday.
The two-storey building belongs to the Blackpool Chamber of Commerce, with the top floor rented out to Cuadrilla. According to Hugh Evans, the deputy chief executive of the chamber, the protesters “tricked” their way inside by pretending to represent a company that wanted to join his organisation.
“They broke down an inner door by rattling it. I’d say there were perhaps 12 of them and only three of us, so we decided to come out. Then they barricaded themselves inside,” said Evans, speaking in the office car park, where around 70 protesters had gathered, singing and chanting. “They broke in, so as far as we are concerned it’s an illegal occupation. They have no mandate to be here.”
No Cuadrilla employees were on site at the time, said Evans. “They’ve all taken the week off,” he claimed.
Inside the building, 20-year-old student Tim Young, one of the protesters, said they had been unable to gain access to the top floor, where Cuadrilla has its offices. He said the group occupied the building by simply walking in and firmly denied that any doors or property had been damaged. “The doors were unlocked. We made it clear we didn’t want to mess with the Chamber of Commerce,” he said.
He said the energy firm needed to know how many local people were against fracking.
“Cuadrilla’s ability to continue relies on local consent. If they have people opposing them every step of the way, they will have to give up, just like at Balcombe,” he said, referring to protests at a test drilling site in Sussex last summer. In January Cuadrilla ruled out fracking at the Balcombe site, saying tests had shown the rock underground already had natural fractures.
Inside the ground floor foyer in Blackpool on Monday, several members of the group had secured themselves in place using plastic “arm tubes”. These secure two activists to each other by each inserting an arm into opposite ends of the same pipe, “locking” on to each others’ hands in various ways. They intend to remain there until removed by police, according to a spokesman from No Dash For Gas, an anti-fracking pressure group.
Evans called the police before noon, but by 1.20pm the three officers on the scene had not moved in. Instead, they watched as a three-metre tall “Cuadzilla” monster made by protesters danced in front of the building as protesters sung Hit The Road, Jack. Four lengths of yellow ribbon encircled the building, matching the T-shirts worn by many present, which carry the slogan “Frack Free Lancashire” and the county’s red rose.
Just over three hours into the Blackpool occupation, 12 protesters
jumped out of a back window while police were looking the other way.
The building was cleared just as the police riot vans turned up.
The occupation is part of a day of nationwide direct action aiming to draw attention to what protesters claim are the dangers of extreme energy extraction. On Tuesday morning activists in London superglued themselves to the doors of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Another protest was also underway at the offices of iGas, the UK’s biggest shale gas company.
The Blackpool occupation was organised at the Reclaim the Power camp in Little Plumpton, near Blackpool. Up to 1,000 people attended the camp over the weekend, according to organisers.
The camp began on 7 August when a group of local mothers and grandmothers occupied a field leased by Cuadrilla with a view to test drilling.
Janice Buckley, 55, one of the original group, said they were committed to peaceful protest and were confident of success. “Women have done it before – I don’t see why women can’t do it now. Don’t forget the suffragettes,” she said.
At least 14,000 locals have written letters asking the council not to grant Cuadrilla permission to drill on the camp site, citing fears of pollution and environmental damage. In 2011, Blackpool experienced small earthquakes linked to exploratory fracking nearby.
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