Energy giant E.ON today obtained a High Court injunction designed to thwart thousands of climate campaigners who plan to put Kingsnorth power station out of action in August.

The 2008 Camp for Climate Action is targetting Kingsnorth as part of its week of action from August 4-11.

The activists are angry at plans for a coal-fired power station on the Kingsnorth site, near Hoo. They have already announced their intention to shut the plant down.

Kent Police are making plans for a big operation to keep disruption to a minimum.

But today E.ON announced the High Court had granted its application to grant legal protection to parts of the power station site ahead of August’s “invasion” by eco-warriors.

Graham Clarke, E.ON’s UK head of business resilience , said: “Our prime concern is the safety of everybody at Kingsnorth power station, including anyone who tries to enter the site and interfere with operations.

“We’re pleased that the court has placed the most important operational areas of our site under the protection of a pre-emptive injunction.”

E.ON says it has secured an injunction to protect only the operational areas of its site in order to minimise the potential for incident and maximise the power station’s ability to supply electricity for more than 1.5 million homes and businesses in the south east of England.

The company is emphasising that it is only protecting the operational areas of the power plant, in contrast to other Camp for Climate Action targets, which have included Heathrow, where more wide-ranging legal restrictions have been sought.

Mr Clarke said: “We completely respect the right of individuals to protest, as long as it’s done peacefully and within the bounds of the law. I hope that, just as we respect the camp’s right to demonstrate, they in turn will respect our right to operate and provide power for our customers’ homes and businesses.”

Full story in Friday's print edition of the Medway Messenger