No decision is expected this month (September 2026) on controversial plans for expansion and long-term production at the Horse Hill oil site in Surrey, the county council has confirmed.

A council spokesperson told DrillOrDrop the planning committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday 23 September 2026, would not consider the Horse Hill application.

The spokesperson also said the council was “not in a position to confirm a date yet as work on the application is still ongoing”.

The Horse Hill plans were at the centre of a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in 2024.

A successful legal challenge, by campaigner Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group, required decisionmakers to take into account the carbon emissions from the use of extracted oil.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Horse Hill planning permission, granted by Surrey County Council in 2019, was unlawful because it had not done this. The consent was quashed immediately.

Four months later, HHDL announced it was voluntarily stopping oil production, although oil continued to be extracted in the following month.

The company submitted a revised planning application in June 2026.

This revealed that the site was expected to produce more than 600,000 tonnes of oil over the next 20 years and release about two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The company concluded that emissions from use of the oil were “not significant” for climate change.

But campaigners have argued that the assessment was “flawed” and have questioned its competence.

HHDL is seeking permission for four new production wells, bringing the total at the site to six. The plans also include expanding the site from 2.08ha to 2.8ha, allowing 20 years of oil production, and adding a new oil processing area, tanker loading facilities and a water reinjection well.

HHDL’s parent company, formerly UK Oil & Gas, now renamed UK Energy Group plc, is seeking to sell Horse Hill to energy B.