Opponents of oil exploration and production at North Kelsey in Lincolnshire have criticised Egdon Resources for its eleventh-hour withdrawal from an appeal hearing.

A planning inspector had been due to hear evidence next week on whether the county council had been right to refuse the company’s latest planning application for the site near Caistor.

But today, Egdon pulled out of the hearing and said it would be submitting a new planning application for the site. More details here.

The local campaign group, SOS North Kelsey, said in a statement this evening:

“We are surprised by Egdon’s latest move, in withdrawing from the appeal. Clearly, they did not feel their arguments would withstand proper scrutiny.

“We have put a great deal of work into preparing our evidence and were ready to set out our case before the Inspector. We hoped for a full and thorough examination of how this application has evolved over the last nine years. There were a lot of questions which will now remain unanswered.

“Communities don’t often get a chance like this to properly present their concerns and ‘lived experience’ of fossil fuel development. The dominant voice of the fossil fuel industry is allowed to dictate the narrative through the planning system.”

SOS North Kelsey had raised more than £5,500 to fight the appeal and, at the time of writing, was still looking for nearly £1,000 to reach its target.

The group had commissioned evidence from climate experts Professor Kevin Anderson and Dr Mark Sheurch, along with new reports on traffic and ecology.

The group said:

“By pulling out, Egdon have also avoided having to answer the very important issues raised in evidence provided by Prof Kevin Anderson and Dr Mark Schuerch relating to the impacts of fossil fuel induced Climate change.

“By rushing to Appeal and then pulling out at the eleventh hour, Egdon have wasted a lot of people’s time and resources – ours, the Council’s and the Inspectorate’s.”

Local opposition to Egdon’s North Kelsey plans dates back nearly a decade.

The company was first granted planning permission in December 2014 to create a well site and drill for oil.

But since then, no work has been carried out on the site, apart from at the entrance.

The appeal centred on Egdon’s request for another year to build the site, drill and test a well and return the land to agriculture. The company also asked for permission to change the trajectory of the well, from vertical to lateral.

In March 2022, Lincolnshire’s planning committee unanimously refused the requests, despite the recommendation of officials to approve. The committee said an extra year would create “a level of uncertainty and anxiety for local residents as they wait for the full development to be completed”.

Egdon immediately said it would appeal.

Egdon now proposes a full new application, local consultation and updated reports on ecology, traffic and flood risk reports.

SOS North Kelsey said:

“Clearly, they realised they weren’t going to win the Appeal so they are now going to put our community through another round of applications, prolonging the uncertainty which was the primary reason for rejection by Lincolnshire County Council.  

“Their statement clearly acknowledges that their reports were out of date and therefore inadequate – an issue we have raised on numerous occasions, particularly relating to ecology.

“With the deteriorating state of nature in the UK, we need to pay a lot more attention to the damage being inflicted upon our environment by unsustainable developments such as this.

“We are immensely grateful to everyone who has supported us in our preparations for the hearing which have led to this outcome, and hope they’ll continue to follow our progress,

“For now, we shall celebrate, then prepare for the next stage.”

Egdon said today its decision to withdraw from the appeal follows correspondence with the planning inspector.

This focussed on the type of application to be considered at next week’s hearing.

The company and the council had agreed that the application was seeking minor changes. They both said a full planning application was not needed. The changes could be sought through what’s known as a section 73 application, they said.

But according to Egdon, the planning inspector disagreed. He said the lateral well was a new development that stretched beyond the boundary of the original application. It should, he said, be considered in a full application, rather than a section 73.

DrillOrDrop has invited Lincolnshire County Council to comment on Egdon’s withdrawal from the appeal hearing and the section 73 issue. More explanation from Egdon Resources here.