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Home
| Friday 9th May
2008 | Issue 631
OIL BE THEREAncient woodland, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and proposed National Park - what could be a better site for... an oil well! Sussex could be the next Texas (well maybe not) as Northern Petroleum are applying for planning permission to test drill in Markswell Wood, Forestdale, near Chichester. On Tuesday West Sussex County Council will make a decision on the application, but have been recommended to approve the application by Council Officers who say there is a “clear and overriding need” for oil exploration. Er, hang on a minute, is there really a need to burn MORE fossil fuels which will bring about even greater global warming? As the oil is running out (in case you hadn’t noticed the price of petrol and diesel going up), smaller oil fields are becoming more profitable for oil companies, so expect to see more wells springing up in unlikely places. The application was criticised by West Sussex’s own ecologist and landscape officers. The Woodland Trust, who objected to the scheme said “This is in ancient woodland which we consider to be irreplaceable. It’s our richest habitat for species in the UK.” But the government’s own environment watchdogs Natural England and the Environment Agency didn’t have any objections. Don’t worry folks, what has taken hundreds of years to develop into a rich diverse wildlife habitat will be fully restored with a five year aftercare plan! Er, unless they find any oil of course, then they’ll be applying for permission for full exploitation. And Northern Petroleum claim that Markswell Wood is in an area confirmed as having potential reserves of oil.
 
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