An oil company has again been given extra time to provide more information about its production plans in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Egdon Resources has been allowed another four weeks to provide details about the environmental impact of its proposal for long-term oil extraction and more drilling in the village of Biscathorpe.

It is the third extension granted in less than a year to the company, now owned by the Dallas-based Heyco Energy Group.

The latest delay will hold up a decision on Biscathorpe by at least a month.

The Biscathorpe proposal has been at the centre of a planning dispute dating back more than four years.

Egdon is preparing its second appeal against a refusal of planning permission by Lincolnshire County Council in 2021.

The first appeal, though initially successful, was overturned in July 2024 following a landmark Supreme Court judgement on greenhouse gas emissions.

The court ruling required decision-makers to consider the climate impact of burning fossil fuels, known as scope 3 or downstream emissions. Previously, they had accounted only for emissions from the production process.

Earlier this year, Egdon submitted an assessment of scope 3 emissions for Biscathorpe – the first for an onshore site in the UK.

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS), which organises appeals on behalf of the government, asked the company for more information in the Biscathorpe environmental statement. This is a report of the findings of an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a detailed study of the likely effects of a development.

The additional information included data on energy generation facilities, source of fuels and emissions and impacts on climate and landscape.

The original deadline for the extra information was last week (Friday 16 May 2025).

But DrillOrDrop has established that Egdon has been allowed more time.

A spokesperson for the Planning Inspectorate told us:

“The Inspector and Environment Services Team (EST) have agreed to the extension of the deadline to Friday 13th June 2025 by 17:00 (from 16th May 2025) for the submission of the Further Environmental Information sought under the EIA regulations.”

Opponents of Egdon’s Biscathorpe plans have criticised the company and the delays.

A spokesperson for the local campaign group, SOS Biscathorpe, said:

“There’s been a lot of talk recently about speeding up the planning system to support development.

“However, in this case, Egdon has already requested three time extensions since last July [2024].

“On other sites, despite generous windows (eg. 3 years) they’ve also used various excuses to delay progress—whether it’s waiting for oil prices to rise, searching for new partners and investors or the unavailability of staff and equipment.

“This raises a serious concern. If we’re going to fast-track development, we must consider the full picture.”

“Flawed”

PINS had rated Egdon’s ES for Biscathorpe as grade D, where A is best and E worst.

The PINS spokesperson said once the additional information had been submitted it would be reviewed on behalf of the local government secretary to:

“ensure that it meets the minimum necessary statutory and/or regulatory requirements.”

Critics described the original ES as “flawed” and “misleading”.

SOS Biscathorpe said:

“Egdon (now owned by Heyco) keep telling us how professional they are—but time and again, it’s been local residents who’ve had to spot the serious flaws, omissions, and inconsistencies in their documents.

“These aren’t small mistakes. They raise real questions about whether this application can be trusted. And yet, instead of being held accountable, they are given extra time and further chances to revise their documents and resubmit.

“That’s worrying in any situation—but even more so here, in a nationally protected landscape, where the stakes couldn’t be higher. Without the hard work of local people scrutinising these plans, many of these issues might never have come to light.

“At the same time, the latest report from the Climate Change Committee makes it painfully clear: we’re still not doing enough to tackle emissions. This proposal isn’t just about a single site. It’s about the wider climate impact of continued and cumulative fossil fuel extraction.

“Since the Supreme Court’s decision, this is the first real test of whether our planning system will take the full picture of greenhouse gas emissions into account.

“That’s why we’ve been asking the Planning Inspectorate to make this process fully transparent and accountable—by holding an oral hearing, or ideally, a full public inquiry. The public deserves a voice,  this issue deserves serious debate and the climate crisis demands that we get it right.”

New planning statement

The PINS spokesperson added:

“The Appellants have also been requested to submit a final consolidated planning statement which sets out, in planning terms, where their case is at in relation to the policy and/or legislative and/or case law context.

“Given the above, it is anticipated that consultation on both the EIA process/requirements and the planning case will commence on Monday 23 June 2025. 

“This would run for a period of no less than 30 days.  Therefore, this period is anticipated to close around Monday 28 July 2025.”

“Further details, including confirmation of the dates and time periods, will be provided to the LPA [local planning authority] once we are able to finalise the overall timetable.”

DrillOrDrop will continue to report on the progress of the Biscathorpe case.