An oil company has won a High Court injunction aimed at preventing environmental protesters from targeting its fuel processing sites.
Valero Energy, which operates the Pembroke Refinery in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, and six fuel terminals across the UK, earlier this week obtained a citation against a number of environmental groups and “unknown persons”. ban.
There have been some recent protests at the company’s Kingsbury Pier near Tamworth, Staffordshire, with Warwickshire Police saying 34 people were arrested at the pier over the weekend as protesters dug under a major thoroughfare. up the tunnel.
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But the judge declined to extend the ban to include blocking, endangering, slowing down, preventing or obstructing the free passage of traffic on the corridor, and refusing to leave the road when asked by police.
The weekend’s protests followed a wave of similar demonstrations across the country by climate change activist Just Stop Oil, with hundreds of protesters arrested in major damage. Valero also owns and operates sites in Manchester, Cardiff, Plymouth and Avonmouth.
Activists continue to blockade oil infrastructure across the country. A tweet posted yesterday said: “We are engaged in civil resistance. This morning we seized a tanker on the road near Purfleet Pier to stop the flow of oil.”
Following the hearing, Judge Bennerson issued injunctions prohibiting anyone from destroying any land at each of the company’s locations, “fixing oneself to any other person or object” on land or part of the access, and building any structures.
The ban prohibits the dropping of vehicles or other items on parts of the site’s access, as well as tunnelling under roads or occupying existing tunnels. The injunction replaces an earlier High Court order granted on March 21 on similar terms.
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It is designed to prevent protests related to the organisations Just Stop Oil, Insulate British, Extinction Rebellion and Youth Climate Swarm, as well as anyone else who may be conducting similar activities at these locations, and anyone found to be violating the ban may be found in contempt court and face a possible jail sentence.
In his ruling explaining his reasons for granting the injunction, Judge Mr Bennathan said: “My order prohibits trespassing of all kinds, including blocking the doors of the Valero house, and prohibiting it in various semi-permanent ways. It does this for all seven sites. Do.
“The reason I’m making the order is: if potential claims go to trial, Valero has a strong basis to act against trespassing and private and public nuisance for others based on protests that have occurred and been threatened at a location. .
“Injury resulting from the activities that I am trying to prevent through the injunction clause will constitute ‘serious and irreparable’ harm as trespassing on the site could lead to highly dangerous results given the highly flammable and even explosive nature of the material being dealt with.
“Semi-permanent blockages of roads can also lead to different types of very severe damage, as many locations are part of critical national infrastructure and many businesses, emergency services, hospitals and other critical parts of society rely on petroleum-based fuels.”
The judge also ordered that the relevant police force should disclose to Valero material that could be used as evidence of a breach of the ban. He said the ban would be reconsidered at a hearing in January to determine whether it was still necessary.
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Sian Harrison is a reporter for PA.Brendan Montague is the editor ecologist.
