A peaceful protest walk against the oil drilling proposals at Leith Hill, Brockham, Albury and the wider area of the South Weald.
Saturday 3rd of December
Converge @ Leith Hill Tower at Midday
Bike ride from St Joesephs Car Park RH4 3DL at 10:30am
Show you care – find out more
There are many good sources of information, all out there and easily accessible via your finger tips – from the planning docs on the Councils website to national Extreme Energy campaign sites like ‘Frack Off’.
http://frack-off.org.uk/fracking-the-weald-the-growing-tight-oil-threat/
The websites of companies in the consortium of 5 who want to ‘drill the hill’ can also make for interesting reading…. as well as ‘investor chat forums’, more technical sites like the BGS. National & local planning policy documents may be relevant reading for some, whilst others may be more drawn more to researching the recent history of drilling in the States in similar geological formations such as the Bakken & Eagle Ford Shale Plays (brace yourself for that one though – it can read like a horror story at times!)
For background info on the particulars of the Leith Hill situation, and how it has developed over the last 7 years, the newsletter section of The Leith Hill Action Groups website is an excellent resource.
I am sure there is at least some truth in the old saying ‘knowledge is power’ ?!
Perhaps only a few who read this will own shares in any of the consortium of 5 companies who want to ‘drill on the hill’, but many may be unwittingly supporting them indirectly via their energy supplier, and via the banking services they use.
All the ‘Big Six’ energy supply companies are heavily invested in fossil fuels.
More ethical and progressive suppliers are Ecotricity and Good Energy, and I believe to a lesser extent Ovo.
Ecotricity were also cheaper than all of the big six (or at least they were a few months ago), so to change to them can be a win / win option. Also, if you are really passionate about this campaign and making the change to support this cause, if you instruct Ecotricity when you register with them, they will make a donation to Frack Free Surrey (£40 for electricity only or £60 for gas & electric).
Good Energy are also essentially a renewables energy company.
If in the near future you are moved to end your association with one of the big six, and taking your custom to a healthier home, please be sure to tell them exactly why.
Some attention has been paid to who is funding these oil exploration companies, and it has not been a massive supprise to discover that our High Street Banks are playing a significant part in it.
The 3 main players in the proposal to drill the well on Leith Hill, along with their stakeholdings, are:
Europa Oil & Gas Plc (40%)
UKOG Plc (30%)
Egdon Resources (18.4%).
Lloyds Bank have investments in ALL three of them.
HSBC have invested in the biggest two, Europa & UKOG.
Barclays Bank have too.
RBS have invested in Europa.
(please be aware that these investments may be direct or indirect, for details see the diagram from which I have collated this info, in the link which I will post as a comment underneath this post)
Hence it would be great if all people who oppose the plans to drill can ensure that they are not unwittingly supporting such destructive activity via who they are using for their banking services, and switch to another bank where appropriate.
And if anyone should go so far as to endure the inconvenience of changing banks ( and we think folk should!), on the way out of the door of your old bank, I think it is really important that you tell them EXACTLY why you are leaving – ‘I object to your investment in Europa O&G Ltd, and hence your financial support to the drilling of an oil well on Leith Hill in the Surrey Hills AONB. I cannot be party to such an investment by association with you’ for instance.
It may also be good to refer them to the wider issue in play – that the fossil fuel related investments of our biggest 5 banking operations currently total approximately £66 Billion,
When signing up with a new provider, it may also be a good idea to tell them why they have won your custom.
From our friends at A Voice For Leith Hill.
Save Leith Hill 