Friday 7 March 2014

Friday Fun: An apology to Streatham Conservatives

We feel we should apologise to Streatham Conservatives, who after seeing this picture, believed that fracking had begun on Streatham Common (see this tweet).

They have been discussing it excitedly on twitter.

However we can happily confirm there is in fact no fracking rig on the Common (although we should add that it would be visible from a 4 x 4 driving along the road by the side of the Common).

It is true that a Conservative Government has issued a licence which would permit exploratory fracking in the South of Streatham. It is also true that the Government is currently consulting on a licence that would cover the rest of Streatham. We are also aware that there is significant support among Conservatives for fracking locally. However, for this to happen several consents need to be obtained, including permission from Lambeth Council (which is why we have launched this petition asking Lambeth to identify the powers that it has in order to oppose it).

The original picture is of some of us standing on Streatham Common. But as Streatham Conservatives have now astutely deduced after trawling the internet, the fracking rig isn't actually there on the Common. It was added to illustrate the potential impact on the area in the event fracking went ahead.

We should point out that no other residents have been in touch to ask where the fracking rig is. Nevertheless, we understand that the absence of an actual rig on the Common will be a disappointment to Streatham Conservatives.

To cheer them up here are some other pictures we took while we were there at the Common a few weeks ago.

(More info on fracking and a link to the petition here)

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(We also stopped by the new Leisure Centre opposite the Common to highlight the low pay of employees there where we bumped into council leader Lib Peck. Sadly, she didn't stick around for a photo).

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