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Case Update

The fight continues to protect the Surrey Hills from fossil fuel drilling

8th February 2023

We are going to court in March to support Protect Dunsfold in their efforts to stop a scheme which could open the doors to oil and gas barons flocking to Surrey’s countryside to exploit its natural resources.

Avpics / Alamy Stock Photo

In October, we heard the disappointing news that community group, Protect Dunsfold, had been refused permission to continue with a legal challenge- that we have been supporting- against a new exploratory drilling site on the edge of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Despite this setback, Protect Dunsfold vowed that they were not going to give up with so much at stake. So, we are now very pleased to confirm that they have been given the opportunity to overturn this decision at a hearing on 2nd March. We hope that the court will grant permission for this vital legal challenge to resume.

The threat to the Surrey Hills arose after the local council was overruled by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, under Michael Gove’s leadership, to give approval to the drilling project. This scandalous intervention runs roughshod over local democracy and could potentially open the door to fracking and fossil fuel mining activity.

Opening major new fossil fuel extraction schemes should be a thing of the past. We have seen plenty of inertia from the Government over tackling the climate emergency, but approving this harmful scheme is a significant step backwards.

We will continue to fight for our green spaces and for robust and urgent action from the Government to reach net zero. If you are interested in supporting this case to protect the Surrey Hills, you can do so here.

 

Case

This article is part of our Stop fossil fuel drilling in the Surrey Hills case

Good Law Project supported legal action by a local community group to protect an important green space on the edge of Surrey Hills. They want to prevent an exploratory drilling project from taking place next to their village, which was greenlit by the Government.

Our involvement in the legal challenge has now ended.

See more about this case