Campaigner fights oil drilling plans a second time

A woman whose successful campaign against oil drilling in Surrey led to a landmark judgement on fossil fuel emissions is fighting plans for a new project.

The original application at Horse Hill in Horley, which was granted by Surrey County Council (SCC), was overturned by the Supreme Court as it failed to consider the full climate impact of burning oil from new wells.

Sarah Finch, who led that campaign, is now fighting fresh plans which Friends of the Earth say aims to extract about 600,000 tonnes of oil from the area over the next 20 years.

SCC said: "Any comments or issues raised in response to the application will be considered by officers during the determination process in due course."

UK Oil and Gas Plc has also been contacted for a comment about Horse Hill Developments Ltd, which was its subsidiary.

In 2024, Finch, as part of the Weald Action Group, won a judicial review, which began in 2019, to challenge SCC over its decision to approve the drilling operation.

The case went to the Supreme Court which ruled the county council should have assessed downstream emissions when reviewing the planning application.

The council had said at the time it believed it had followed planning law.

Finch said it was "depressing" to have to fight another application.

She said: "Any new oil and gas production will bust our chances of keeping global heating within safe limits."

"The application should have assessed the emissions from Horse Hill oil on a global basis, taking into account the emissions from other existing and committed fossil fuel projects.

"It failed to do so, so I believe allowing the project on this basis would be unlawful."

Friends of the Earth said the new application did not follow government guidance on assessing the climate impact of burning oil that would be produced.

The charity, which objected to the plans, added it had also submitted an "expert evidence" warning of earthquake risks associated with the proposal

Friends of the Earth's interim head of legal, Katie de Kauwe, said approving the proposal would be a "backwards step that we cannot afford to take".

"The route to lower bills, greater energy security and a safer climate is a rapid transition to renewables," she added.

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