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.
The letter calls on the Council to ensure that no emissions are released from hundreds of tonnes of oil which industry data indicates was unlawfully extracted between 20 June, when the judgment was given, and 25 October, when operations eventually stopped.
Calculations made by the Weald Action Group estimate that burning the oil produced from June to August would release almost 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, with data for oil production in September and October not yet available.
The June judgment quashed planning permission for the site at Horse Hill, ruling that downstream emissions from the use of the hydrocarbons mined must be considered when assessing the environmental impact of a fossil fuel extraction development.
The judgment has since had a major impact on similar cases, with planning permission for fossil extraction sites in North Lincolnshire and Cumbria being overturned.
Responding to an earlier letter from the Weald Action Group in October, Surrey County Council confirmed that there was no existing planning permission for the Horse Hill site since 20 June, and that it did not know if or when any new application would be submitted.
But despite no longer having planning permission for the site, the Weald Action Group believes oil production continued for another four months until late October, when UK Oil and Gas Plc (UKOG) confirmed that it had ‘voluntarily’ instructed its subsidiary Horse Hill Developments Ltd (HHDL) to suspend production.
At a meeting at the end of October, the council advised that it considered continued oil production at Horse Hill to have been unlawful and not permitted by them.
Data from the industry regulator has confirmed that the site produced 163 cubic metres of hydrocarbons in July, equivalent to 138 tonnes, and 153 cubic metres in August.
In our letter this month, we also asked for an update as to the timing and next steps for the redetermination of the 2018 application, and states its intention to respond to any re-submitted application made by the developer.
We have put to the council that, in the absence of any active planning permission at the site, it should immediately move to restore the drilling site.
The Weald Action Group is represented by solicitors Carol Day, Rowan Smith and Julia Eriksen from law firm Leigh Day’s environment team.
James Knapp of the Weald Action Group said:
“Surrey County Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, yet two months later approved planning permission for 25 years of oil production from six wells at Horse Hill. They demonstrated a gross failure to act in the interests of people and planet, and to respect the Paris Agreement which is enshrined in British law.
“The Weald Action Group fought for five years to win the Supreme Court judgement which means any oil production at Horse Hill is unlawful. We have just had our hottest year ever, exceeding the “safe” limit of a 1.5°C temperature increase, so more than ever before we need urgent enforcement from Surrey County Council to ensure no emissions result from the oil which UKOG has extracted unlawfully since the Supreme Court judgement.
“There is only one safe future for the Horse Hill well site, one where it is restored to nature, and we will continue to hold Surrey County Council to account until that happens.”
Leigh Day solicitor Julia Eriksen said:
“Despite a landmark victory in the Supreme Court for campaigners at Weald Action Group in June which ruled that oil production at Horse Hill was unlawful, developers appear to have defied this judgment and continued to operate the site until October. This has now resulted in large amounts of oil being extracted during a period in which Surrey County Council has confirmed no planning permission was in place. Our clients are calling on the council to enforce June’s judgment and ensure that unlawfully extracted oil does not lead to further emissions being released.”
Read the letter from our solicitors to Surrey County Council