Lancashire

Sajid Javid has overruled Lancashire Council’s decision to reject fracking at two sites in Lancashire. He has given the go ahead for drilling exploration to start at the Preston New Road site but it has been reported drilling will not be allowed at the other site for now. However, the Secretary of State's ruling is giving Cuadrilla more time to prove their case at the Roseacre site, and says that he is minded to allow planning permission for fracking there in the future.

Local campaigning groups Frack Free Lancashire, Preston New Road Action Group and Roseacre Awareness Group will also be joined by Lancaster and Fleetwood MP Cat Smith, who says fracking has no “democratic mandate” in Lancashire, following the local council’s decision to prohibit the controversial practice.

The findings are published this morning as flood-affected people and campaigners have started installing an artwork opposite Parliament displaying hundreds of testimonies from communities affected by the recent floods.

The stories gathered by Greenpeace include distressing accounts of parents carrying their children out of flooded buildings, older people trapped in their homes, and businesses being wrecked by floodwater. There are also passionate appeals to David Cameron to step up his government’s flood prevention plans in the face of the growing threat from climate change.