Dear Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

Lancashire residents and their locally elected representatives in the County Council voted overwhelmingly – just months ago – to reject the fracking applications by Cuadrilla. You have said communities would have a voice in whether fracking would happen near them, but now their decision is at risk of being overturned by your Government following the planning inquiry which finishes tomorrow.

We are writing to ask that you keep your promise to let local voices and councils decide about fracking applications. We join the tens of thousands of people who have signed Friends of the Earth’s petition urging you not to overturn Lancashire’s local, democratic decision.

In the United States fracking has caused thousands of cases of groundwater and surface water contamination, made many people sick, has been linked to infant health issues, serious air pollution problems, and more. Lancashire knows the impacts of fracking first-hand, having experienced earthquakes the only time fracking has been done in the United Kingdom five years ago. Since then, science has revealed that fracking poses significant public health and environmental risks and harms. Last year, New York State banned fracking after performing the first public health review.

When fracking can cause such damage, it should not be forced on communities that do not want it. France, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Ireland, and parts of Canada, Spain, and Switzerland, Scotland and Wales have all banned or suspended fracking while the risks are examined. England should look at the risks and take heed as well.

We urge you and Communities Secretary Greg Clark to respect Lancashire’s decision and let their rejection of fracking stand.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Ruffalo,  Colin Firth,  Livia Firth,  Vivienne Westwood,  Bianca Jagger,  Taron Egerton,  Rupert Friend,  Aimee Mullins,  Felicity Blunt