Birds shut down Cuadrilla site
4 Oct 2013
Shale gas developer Cuadrilla announces it is closing one of three sites on Lancashire coast over concerns about wintering bird species.
As part of its investigations into developing the site at Anna’s Road, Westby, along with sites in Singleton and Weeton for hydraulic fracturing, Cuadrilla hired Arup to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Risk Assesment (ERA).
As a result of Arup’s findings, Cuadrilla has decided not to proceed any further with the Anna’s Road site.
“We’re looking at a number of possible locations and have decided to rule out Anna’s Road so we can focus on other sites, which we believe show greater potential at this time,” said Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan.
“The background to this decision includes technical constraints related to wintering birds. We are continuing our site selection assessment and will continue to keep local communities fully informed and engage with them on our plans as they develop.”
This is the second site that Cuadrilla has halted operations at in the past month, after temporarily ceasing work at its controversial Balcombe site in West Sussex at the end of September.
