A landmark legal judgement on onshore oil production in Surrey has now blocked plans for the UK’s first new deep coalmine for 30 years.

In June, the Supreme Court allowed a challenge by campaigner Sarah Finch against planning permission for oil extraction at the Horse Hill site near Redhill.

The court accepted Ms Finch’s argument that permission was unlawful because it did not take account of the climate impact of burning the oil.

In the first legal test of the Finch judgement, a High Court judge quashed permission this morning for the new coal mine to be built near Whitehaven in Cumbria.

Last month, the government announced it was not defending a judicial review of the consent for the Rosebank oil field off Shetland and the Jackdaw oil field off Aberdeen, also because of the Finch case.

Sarah Finch, of the Weald Action Group, which supported her legal challenge, said:

“I am overjoyed that this climate-wrecking coal mine will not now go ahead. And so happy that my case on Horse Hill helped to secure this win.

“There is no room for more coal, oil or gas extraction if we want to stay within liveable climate limits. I’m glad that my case has set a precedent and that new fossil fuel developments can no longer be permitted without accounting for their full climate impacts.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the judgments on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea. If Horse Hill and the Whitehaven mine are unlawful, they must be as well.”

Coal mine challenge

The coal mine had been approved by the Boris Johnson government in December 2022.

Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change took the government to court, arguing that it had not taken account of the full carbon impact of the mine.

A week before the hearing at the High Court in July 2024, the new Labour government dropped its defence of the coal mine, saying it had been approved due to an “error of law”.

The would-be operator, West Cumbria Mining (WCM), continued to defend the case. It argued that the failure to assess greenhouse gas emissions from Whitehaven coal was not a “material error of law”.

In his judgement this morning, Mr Justice Holgate said he accepted four grounds of the legal challenge. These included the need to assess the 99% of carbon emissions that would come from burning the coal. He said:

“The court orders the decision to be quashed.”

The judge also agreed that the then Secretary of State had acted unlawfully in accepting WCM’s claim that the mine would be net zero and would have no impact on the country’s ability to meet emissions cuts required by legislation.

WCM had said it would offset the emissions from the mine through buying carbon credits from abroad. Government policy does not allow reliance on international offsets to meet UK carbon budgets.

The judge also agreed it was incorrect in law for the then Secretary of State to find that the mine would not have a negative international impact.

The government will now need to reconsider whether to allow the mine, taking into account its full climate impact. The current local government secretary, now Angela Rayner, could call for new evidence or re-open the earlier planning inquiry.

Friends of the Earth’s senior lawyer, Niall Toru, said:

“This is fantastic news and a huge victory for our environment and everyone who has fought against this climate-damaging and completely unnecessary coal mine.

“It is the first fossil fuel case to be decided after the landmark Supreme Court judgment on oil drilling at Horse Hill. That the ruling today has gone against the mining company could have ramifications internationally, as there are cases abroad where challenges are being made against fossil fuel projects on a very similar basis.

“This mine should never have been given permission in the first place.  The case against it is overwhelming: it would have huge climate impacts, its coal isn’t needed and it harms the UK’s international reputation on climate. Any reconsideration of the planning application can surely only reach one conclusion – and reject this harmful mine once and for all.  We believe that the writing is on the wall, and that WCM should withdraw its application for this climate-wrecking project.

“We have to leave fossil fuels in the ground and build the cleaner, brighter future that will slash emissions, cut bills and create the well-paid jobs of tomorrow that areas like West Cumbria so urgently need.”

Duncan Pollard, a trustee of South Lakes Action on Climate Change, said:

“Today’s ruling is a huge relief for SLACC and our supporters who have spent years trying to expose the truth about West Cumbria Mining’s proposal and Michael Gove’s decision to approve it. It is now doubly clear that fossil fuel companies cannot ignore the combustion emissions caused by the use of their oil, gas or coal, or rely on simplistic claims that a new coal mine will have zero impact on global emissions.

 “We sincerely hope that any re-examination of the coal mine proposal considers all relevant issues and this ill-conceived idea is permanently shelved. Central and local government need to concentrate on secure and sustainable jobs for west Cumbria.”

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