An environmental activist has threatened legal action over the expansion of the Wressle oil and gas site near Scunthorpe.

The scheme, proposed by Egdon Resources, was granted planning permission by North Lincolnshire Council last month without an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a detailed review of the effects on the environment.

Sandie Stratford announced today that she had sent a pre-action protocol letter to the council warning that she could bring a legal challenge unless the authority and Egdon conceded that they had acted unlawfully.

In July last year, North Lincolnshire Council decided that the proposal did not need an EIA, even though it met some of the criteria.

Council planners accepted that the Wressle expansion would result in the extraction of additional hydrocarbons. But they said they needed to consider only the carbon emissions from construction, operation and decommissioning of the site. They said they did not have to take into account greenhouse gases from the burning of the extracted oil and gas, known as indirect or downstream emissions.

The planning application for Wressle, currently the UK’s second biggest onshore oil producer, was submitted in March 2024 without an EIA. It sought to expand the footprint by about a third, drill two new wells, carry out small-scale hydraulic fractures, known as a proppant squeeze, and produce oil and gas.

Before permission was granted, a landmark judgement by the Supreme Court ruled that downstream emissions must be taken into account in EIAs for fossil fuel production schemes. The judgement was the result of a long-running legal challenge by campaigner Sarah Finch over oil production at the Horse Hill site in Surrey.

Two months later, despite the Supreme Court judgement, North Lincolnshire planners gave the go-ahead for Wressle expansion. The decision was made using delegated powers, rather than being considered by councillors.

Sandie Stratford argued in her letter that the Supreme Court judgement in the Finch case should have been factored in to the Wressle decision. She said Egdon Resources’ application relied on out-of-date rulings which had been superseded by the judgement. She said: 

“The climate emergency demands we stop all new fossil fuel extraction, and get serious about reducing demand and increasing renewable energy sources.  Extreme weather events are the new normal; it is time to take action” 

The Finch judgment has already led to the quashing of planning permission for another Egdon Resources development: plans to allow oil drilling and production at Biscathorpe in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Ms Stratford is being represented by Leigh Day. The firm’s environment team solicitor, Julia Eriksen, said:

“The Finch judgment in June is a landmark ruling which has set a new precedent for how the impact of fossil fuel extraction developments must be assessed. With permission for one development in Lincolnshire already having been quashed in July due to this ruling, our client argues the same logic should also be applied to the proposed expansion of the Wressle site.” 

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