Planning consent at the controversial Balcombe oil site in West Sussex has lapsed, officials confirmed today.

The site operator had been required to start testing a well drilled more than 10 years ago by last Friday (13 February 2026). It also had to give notice of the work to West Sussex County Council at least a week before the deadline.

DrillOrDrop reported last week that there had been no notification from the current operator, Angus Energy.

Today, we asked West Sussex County Council whether planning permission had lapsed if no work on the well test had begun by the deadline. A spokesperson said:

“Yes, permission has now lapsed”.

We understand there are no other current permissions for the well site in woodland at Lower Stumble.

The council spokesperson also said:

“We have not received any notification about the well test or the Lower Stumble site from Angus Energy or its agents in the past week.”

Asked whether any work had been carried out at the site in the past week, the council said:

“Not that we are aware of”.

We also asked about what action the council would now take. The spokesperson said:

“The county council will consider the operator’s intended next steps and take action as necessary”.

The council said Angus Energy had been expected to make a statement to the financial markets today.

At the time of writing, no online statement has been published.

The Balcombe oil site has been unpopular with many villagers since plans for the new well were first made public in late 2009.

The drilling operation in summer 2013 prompted daily anti-fracking protests and later inspired nationwide campaigns against the UK onshore oil and gas industry.

The village campaign group, Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association (FFBRA), took three legal challenges to the Royal Courts of Justice in London against planning permission at the site .

Last week FFBRA said:

“We won’t quite believe it until the deadline has passed but we are counting the days now with growing excitement. We’ve been watching the site closely in the last few weeks and to our great relief it has remained quiet.”

Sue Taylor, a former FFBRA chair said:

“We look forward to West Sussex County Council enforcing the restoration of the site”.

West Sussex’s planning committee unanimously refused permission for the well test in March 2021. This was despite a recommendation to approve by planners.

Angus Energy successfully appealed against the refusal when a planning inspector overturned the council’s decision in February 2023. A condition of the permission set a three-year deadline for the start of work.

There has been limited activity at the Balcombe site since the 2013 drilling.