Nine Extinction Rebellion campaigners blocked the entrance to the Horse Hill oil production site in Surrey this morning in a protest over its continued operation despite the quashing of planning permission by the Supreme Court.

The campaigners said they would stop vehicles from entering the site, which was the focus of a landmark judgement in June 2024.

The Supreme Court quashed planning permission for oil production and four new wells at Horse Hill following a lengthy legal challenge by Sarah Finch, representing Weald Action Group, against Surrey County Council.

We reported earlier this month that the site, near Horley, was continuing to operate. Official figures from the parent company, UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG), showed it produced 165m3 of oil in July 2024, the month after the judgement.

The protesters held placards which read: “Surrey County Council, stop UKOG flouting Supreme Court Horse Hill ruling”, “CEO Stephen Sanderson Stop Pumping Oil Unlawfully At Horse Hill” and “No More Planet Killing Emissions – Time To Restore Horse Hill To Nature”. 

One of the protesters, Deborah Elliott, from Reigate, said: 

“It’s shocking that UKOG had no plan to cease production if they lost their planning permission, which was the inevitable consequence of the Weald Action Group’s win. I believe this shows UKOG’s contempt for the Supreme Court and its decision.”

Another protester, James Knapp, from Dorking, said UKOG’s chief executive, Stephen Sanderson, was making Surrey County Council look “weak and ineffective in the face of blatantly unlawful oil extraction”.

Jackie Macey, a retired teacher, who was also protesting this morning, said Extinction Rebellion was calling for the site to be restored:

“It’s really quite simple. Surrey County Council need to tell Mr Sanderson to stop all activity at Horse Hill until UKOG have planning permission. They will be enforcing a Supreme Court judgement and no reasonable person could possibly criticise them for that, so I urge them now to do what they should have done as soon as the Supreme Court decision was handed down; instruct them to stop the works now.”

Reverend Helen Burnett, who lives five miles from Horse Hill, said:

“I urge Surrey’s Officers and Councillors to respect the Supreme Court decision, and order UKOG to stop work at Horse Hill immediately.”

The Sarah Finch case argued that Surrey County Council should have taken into account the carbon emissions from burning Horse Hill oil when it considered UKOG’s planning application in 2019.

The council and the company said only the emissions from operating the site must be considered.

But a majority of Supreme Court justices disagreed and ruled that the planning permission was unlawful.

The judgement has had wide implications for fossil fuel developments. It has already led to the quashing of planning permission for the UK’s first deep coal mine for 30 years, onshore oil production at Biscathorpe in Lincolnshire and has threatened development of two North Sea oil fields.

Earlier this month, a UKOG spokesperson told us the company was working on a retrospective planning application and was “in constant communication” with Surrey County Council.

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