Weald Action Group

Our victory in the Supreme Court last June (Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group v. Surrey County Council) has had far-reaching results for the UK fossil fuel sector.

Within weeks of the Judgment,  the impacts began to be seen at other sites. One of the first was Biscathorpe in Lincolnshire. On 11 July 2024, the government and the oil company, Egdon Resources, conceded a High Court challenge against oil production there. As in the ‘Finch’ case, the carbon emissions from the use of the oil had not been taken into account when planning permission was granted on appeal.

Now the case has gone back to the Planning Inspectorate for redetermination. This will be the first time an application for fossil fuel production will be considered following the landmark Supreme Court judgment.

Continue reading “First formal assessment of carbon emissions from burning oil: have your say”

The 2024 Supreme Count judgment on the case Weald Action Group’s Horse Hill case is a key factor

Scotland’s Court of Session has today ruled that the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields were approved unlawfully. Consent for their development has been quashed.

Continue reading “Huge win for the climate as Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields are ruled unlawful”

A new study by UCL researchers suggests that oil production at Horse Hill well may have triggered a series of over 100 small earthquakes in Surrey during 2018 and 2019.

Monitoring by seismologists plotted the epicentres between Newdigate and Charlwood, just 3km from the Horse Hill drill site and 8km from Brockham.

Continue reading “UCL Researchers Link Surge in Surrey Earthquakes to Oil Drilling”

The UK government is developing new guidance on environmental impact assessments for new offshore oil and gas projects. This is a direct result of our win in the Supreme Court.

Thanks to our campaign on the Horse Hill oil extraction site in Surrey, fossil fuel developers and regulators can no longer ignore the huge climate pollution caused by burning the oil and gas they produce. And that applies equally to the North Sea fields. From now on, when companies apply to develop oil and gas fields, they must include a full assessment of these emissions (called “Scope 3”) in their Environmental Statements, and OPRED (the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning) must take them into account before approving any new drilling. The UK is not approving new offshore oil and gas fields while the new guidance is being developed. 

The government consulted on its draft and the Weald Action Group submitted a response to the consultation.

Sarah Finch, who brought the brought the legal case on Horse Hill, on behalf of the Weald Action Group, also submitted a response.

Continue reading “We call for “clarity and consistency” for local authorities over assessment of scope 3 emissions for onshore oil & gas”

Campaigners at the Weald Action Group have written to Surrey County Council asking them to put a stop notice on the sale of any oil produced at the Horse Hill oil site since the Supreme Court quashed planning permission for activities on the site on 20 June 2024.

We requested the council to draft the stop notice in such a way that profits made from the sale of any oil that might be produced in contravention of it could be subject to a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Continue reading “We call on Surrey County Council to issue stop notice on sale of oil unlawfully extracted from Horse Hill”

Surrey climate campaigner receives international recognition.

Climate campaigner Sarah Finch, who won a landmark and far-reaching legal victory in the UK Supreme Court earlier this year, has been named by TIME as one of the 100 most innovative leaders driving climate change  [1].

Continue reading “Campaigner Sarah Finch named to the TIME100 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving climate action.”

Following widespread outrage at UK Oil & Gas PLC (UKOG) continuing to produce oil at Horse Hill without planning permission, we are pleased that they have now suspended operations.

But we are appalled that it took protests by Extinction Rebellion, news coverage by Drill or Drop, Channel 4 and BBC Surrey, questions from the local MP and the threat of legal action by Friends of the Earth to bring them to this conclusion.

Continue reading “UKOG suspend operations at Horse Hill”

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?”