Weald Action Group

Press release from Friends of the Earth

Surrey County Council given one week deadline to respond to legal complaint over unlawful oil extraction at Horse Hill

A copy of the letter can be accessed here: friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/urgent-letter-complaint-surrey-county-council

The environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has written to a local authority over oil wells in Surrey that continue to operate, despite the fact its planning permission was quashed in a landmark Supreme Court ruling months ago.

Continue reading “Call for immediate stop to “brazenly unlawful” oil production at Horse Hill”

Planning permission for oil production at Horse Hill was quashed this summer as a result of the legal challenge which Sarah Finch brought on behalf of the Weald Action Group.

The ruling has led to a number of other planning applications being quashed around the UK.

Yet at Horse Hill itself, Horse Hill Developments Ltd (HHDL) continues to produce oil at the site, according to figures submitted by its parent company UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) to the industry regulator. Read more on Drill or Drop

Continue reading “We ask Surrey County Council about unlawful oil production at Horse Hill”

UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) PLC, the fossil fuel extraction company that has proved so unsuccessful at Horse Hill, Dunsfold, Broadford Bridge, the Isle of Wight and in Turkey, now wants to create salt caverns beneath the Isle of Portland in Dorset, for hydrogen storage. It is promoting the project through its new subsidiary UK Energy Storage Ltd (UKEn).

Continue reading “Do UKOG’s plans to store hydrogen in salt caverns in Dorset add up?”

The Weald Action Group has responded to the government’s consultation on proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.

We welcome the proposed policies on renewable energy, which provide a welcome shift to enable the rapid deployment of renewable energy at scale.

Continue reading “Weald Action Group response to NPPF consultation”

 

The UK’s first new coal mine application in 30 years – which was granted permission by the previous government in 2022 – will not be allowed to go ahead.

South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Friends of the Earth had taken the government to court over the decision, arguing among other things that it had failed to take into account the full climate impact of the mine. Today, the High Court judge Justice Holgate allowed their challenges and quashed the planning permission.

Continue reading “Planning permission for new coal mine in Cumbria quashed”

The Weald Action Group’s Supreme Court victory is starting to have effects across the country.

Today, Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  has admitted that a controversial new coal mine in Cumbria was permitted unlawfully. Michael Gove, ex Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, granted planning permission for the mine in December 2022. Read a press release from Friends of the Earth

And the the Secretary of State  and oil company Egdon Resources Limited have accepted that planning permission for an oil development at Biscathorpe in Lincolnshire was unlawful. Read an update from Cornerstone Barristers

Continue reading “Impacts of Horse Hill judgment show as government concedes other plans are unlawful”

Campaigners from the Weald Action Group will support campaigners against the planned new coal mine in Cumbria as they take their cases to the Royal Courts of Justice on 16 July. 

Join the rally outside the court on the first day of the hearing, Tuesday 16 July

Continue reading “Weald Action Group supports campaigners against new Cumbria coalmine”

• Groundbreaking judgment could have profound implications for new fossil fuel projects, including Cumbrian coal mine and North Sea oil and gas fields

Surrey County Council acted unlawfully by giving planning permission for oil production at Horse Hill in the Surrey countryside without considering the climate impacts of when the oil is inevitably burned, the Supreme Court has ruled today.

The landmark judgment follows a legal challenge brought by former Surrey resident Sarah Finch, on behalf of the Weald Action Group. The case challenged Surrey County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for oil drilling at Horse Hill, near Gatwick airport in the Surrey countryside.

It could have enormous impacts on all new UK fossil fuel developments – including proposals for a controversial new coal mine in Cumbria and North Sea oil and gas projects. Continue reading “Horse Hill: Historic win as Supreme Court upholds landmark climate case”

The Supreme Court will hand down its judgment on the case Sarah Finch v. Surrey County Council at 9.45 am on 20 June 2024. It will be also be livestreamed on the UK Supreme Court website.

Join us outside the court from 8.45am.

The case – about planning permission granted in 2019 for 20 years’ oil production at Horse Hill in Surrey – is of major importance for future decisions by planning authorities about applications to extract fossil fuels across England and Wales.

Continue reading “Supreme Court judgment on Horse Hill case to be issued on 20 June 2024”

The Weald Action Group has urged Hampshire County Council to commit to refuse any plans for new oil and gas developments.

We have responded to the Council’s consultation on the update of its Minerals and Waste Plan, which will guide decision-making on minerals development – including exploration and production of oil and gas – up until 2040.

Continue reading “No new oil & gas: our response to Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan update”