UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) has announced it will not appeal against the refusal of planning permission for exploration near the village of Arreton on the Isle of Wight.
The Isle of Wight Council unanimously refused the application in October 2021. This followed years of dedicated campaigning by Don’t Drill the Wight, a non- party political group of like-minded individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, professions and political affiliations, who are opposed to the development of new onshore exploration and extraction sites for oil and gas.
The group today said: “We are delighted to hear that UKOG has finally decided not to appeal the decision of the planning committee to reject the Arreton Oil site application. It is a huge relief for us all on the island.
“We hope that this will give our council the confidence to include a specific statement within their upcoming review of the Island Minerals and Waste Plan rejecting all plans for fossil fuel exploration and extraction. The Isle of Wight exploration licence is still active until July 2023 but it is doubtful that it will be sold on by UKOG to another
operator.
“We are continuing to monitor the Government’s policies on future plans for offshore developments, since the Isle of Wight offshore licence P1916, which was dropped by UKOG in 2018, could be included in the next offshore round of licences.
“In the meantime, we can celebrate!”
Great news ! This shows that protesting works !