Egdon Resources announced today it had submitted an appeal against the refusal of planning permission for its undeveloped North Kelsey site in Lincolnshire.

The news had been expected since March 2022, when the company said it would appeal against the decision by Lincolnshire County Council.

The council’s planning committee voted unanimously against a time extension of another 12 months at North Kelsey.

The site was first granted consent for three years of oil exploration in 2014.

But no work, apart from the site entrance and a layby, has been carried out in more than seven years.

Egdon Resources had previously twice been granted time extensions at North Kelsey, in 2018 and 2020.

In 2020, a councillor warned the company it should get no further extensions without a good reason.

Egdon had previously blamed the withdrawal of a partner, delays at the Wressle oil site near Scunthorpe and the low price of oil. It said the latest request and the 2020 extension were needed because of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the committee said the extra time would have an unacceptable impact on the amenity of local residents.

More than 1,100 people had opposed the latest extension application. There were also objections from seven parish, town and district councils, as well as local environmental organisations and residents’ groups.

In a statement to investors this morning, Egdon said it expected the appeal to be decided by written representations, rather than a public inquiry. This means a planning inspector will consider written evidence from the company, Lincolnshire County Council and other interested parties.

The appeal must first be validated and allocated to a planning inspector. DrillOrDrop will report on the appeal process.

Biscathorpe appeal

This is the second appeal lodged by Egdon in the past five months. In April 2022, the company appealed against the refusal of planning permission for long-term production and a side-track well at Biscathorpe, also in Lincolnshire.

Today is the deadline for comments by interested parties to the Planning Inspectorate for comments on the Biscathorpe appeal, reference APP/Q2500/W/22/3296831. Link to Planning Inspectorate webpage for comments and details of the appeal.

DrillOrDrop key facts pages for North Kelsey and Biscathorpe