More than 80 people attended a meeting in Horley on Monday evening (13 October) to hear about the drilling taking place at nearby Horse Hill and to discuss the threat of fracking across the Weald.

Local campaigner Rob Basto, Green Councillor Jonathan Essex and Balcombe resident Sue Taylor all spoke, and the meeting was chaired by Balcombe’s Charles Metcalfe.

A wide cross section of people attended, including local residents and anti-fracking campaigners. Magellan Petroleum had been invited but did not send an official representative.

The Horse Hill site is an exploratory well and no fracking is planned or permitted at this stage. However one of the partners in the drilling, Magellan Petroleum, has spoken of their intentions to test for shale gas here to inform their plans for fracking elsewhere in the South East

Rob Basto from Frack Free Surrey said “If fracking goes ahead in the area it could result in thousands of wells in the south-east with disastrous consequences – for our local environment and the global climate. We are strongly opposed to any new fossil fuel development in our area.”

A follow-up meeting is planned for 10 November, also at Empire Hall.