Egdon Resources plc and the Government have conceded that permission has been quashed for oil production at Biscathorpe in the Lincolnshire Wolds.
IMPLICATIONS
The move follows last month’s Supreme Court landmark ruling that a consent, issued in 2019 for oil production at Horse Hill in Surrey, must include end-use emissions.
Biscathorpe lies within licence PEDL253 in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Operator Egdon Resources Ltd holds 35.8%, Union Jack Oil plc has 45% and Montrose Industries Ltd, 19.2%.
The joint venture companies have yet to issue a statement.
The project received approval in November 2023 from the planning inspector, who overturned Lincolnshire County Council’s refusal for drilling and production at the site.
Mathilda Dennis, supported by SOS Biscathorpe, challenged the decision at the High Court in June 2024, with the judgment still pending.
Yesterday, the campaigners’ legal representative Leigh Day said that the defendants, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities (as previously named under the Conservative Government) and Egdon Resources, had “accepted an invitation from solicitors on Leigh Day’s environment team to concede the case”.
The statement added: “Following the defendants’ concession in the Biscathorpe case, the 2023 decision to allow further exploratory drilling and oil production in the area will be quashed.
“Our clients put forward strong arguments that the Secretary of State acted unlawfully and irrationally in overturning Lincolnshire County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission.
“This case illustrates the significant implications of the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment on fossil fuel production in June, which ruled that planning inspectors must take into account the downstream emissions from burning fuel when considering fossil fuel applications.
“We hope this success in Lincolnshire is a positive sign for similar cases still before the courts.”