Environmental lawyers have called for immediate enforcement action to stop “unauthorised” oil extraction at Horse Hill.

Friends of the Earth has given Surrey County Council until tomorrow (29 October 2024) to respond to its legal complaint over continued extraction at the site near Horley.

Planning permission for the site was quashed by the Supreme Court in a judgement in June 2024.

But earlier this month, DrillOrDrop reported on official data that showed Horse Hill continued to produce oil in the month after the judgement. According to the figures (the most recent publicly-available), Horse Hill extracted 138 tonnes of oil in July 2024, at a rate of 33 barrels a day.

Friends of the Earth’s lawyer, Katie de Kauwe, described oil production at Horse Hill as “brazenly unlawful”. She accused the site operator, of UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) of “gaming the system” and a “blatant disregard for the judgement of the Supreme Court”.

She also criticised Surrey County Council for not taking enforcement action against UKOG.

In a statement today, Ms de Kauwe said:

“It’s jaw-dropping that oil production has continued at Horse Hill for four months after our highest court quashed the planning permission. It’s hard to view this as anything other than a developer gaming the planning system and being allowed to get away with it.

“It’s deeply concerning this has been allowed to go unchecked for so long – it threatens not just the integrity of our planning system, but also local democracy and our ailing climate.”

The Supreme Court case, brought by Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group, centred on whether the planning permission, granted by Surrey County Council in 2019 for oil production, was unlawful.

 A majority judgement by the court found that the council had acted unlawfully and the planning permission for Horse Hill should be quashed.

Ms de Kauwe said today:

“Having been told by the Supreme Court it got the law wrong in granting planning permission for this oil project, the council’s lack of action to uphold the ruling and to stop this unauthorised activity occurring on its watch is staggering.

“We urge Surrey County Council to take immediate and decisive enforcement action against this brazenly unlawful activity. We look forward to its response.”

Asked what would happen if the council did not respond satisfactorily or on time, Friends of the Earth said:

“Following any response that is provided, we will consider our legal options if it appears the council itself is acting unlawfully. One such option would be a claim for judicial review, though we hope this would not be necessary. 

“Whatever the legal situation, we will continue to reach out to politicians to ensure they are aware of this live issue, if no satisfactory action is taken.”

DrillOrDrop invited the council and UKOG to comment .

UKOG did not respond but in a comment last week, it said it remained “in constant dialogue with Surrey County Council and other regulators regarding the retroactive reinstatement of planning permission at Horse Hill.”

The company said the Supreme Court judgement did not tell it to stop producing.

Last week, the council said in a statement :

“It is the case that there is no planning permission for extraction at the Horse Hill site. The planning service have discussed the planning application with UKOG and await necessary information. This does not impede enforcement action, should it be considered expedient.”

The council added that it was “continuing its enforcement investigation and will determine whether formal enforcement action is expedient. While the investigation is continuing it is not possible to comment further”.

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