Marathon to Stop Angus Oil Extraction in Balcombe

Aim

I am 1 of several fundraisers aiming for £37,000 total for a legal case, needed by 18 July to stop oil exploration in Balcombe, Weald AONB

I will run a marathon along the North Downs way in July, aiming to rapidly raise funds, faster than I can run, to help keep Balcombe and the Weald free from oil exploration, preserving these Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty for future generations.

I've lived in Balcombe since 2007 and since Cuadrilla pushed first in 2012 we have been resisting - a huge part of our lives, not just for our local community but for our global environment.

I have 2 children and as one of many families growing up in this area, so close to the proposed oil extraction site, am horrified at the thought of the dangerous fugitive gases that would escape and the 24/7 flaring required. Our friends and family live just hundreds of metres away from the site and developments such as these put our health in peril as well as our planet. 

Extracting the tiny potential amount of oil in this area would cause havoc locally and bring negligeable benefit, the environmental cost of which is not worth paying. We know oil needs to stay in the ground, fighting each and every development is part of a global fight for survival.

All sponsorship raised would be added to the fundraising pot of Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association, to fight the government in court, who overturned a unanimous local county council vote to refuse permission for the work.

This case will have a significant effect on oil applications across the Weald, if they get in here – nowhere is safe! We hope by stopping it, other applications may also be stopped in their tracks.

This project successfully funded on 13th July 2023