Sussex villagers take fracking fight to Court of Appeal

Residents of the West Sussex village of Balcombe took their campaign against oil drillers to the Court of Appeal today. Grassroots group Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association has been opposing plans to search for oil in their area since 2013, when oil and gas company Cuadrilla was given a licence to drill. In 2023, a planning inspector approved plans by Argus Energy to conduct an exploratory well test for oil near the village. The testing will last for up to a year and, if successful, may lead to long-term oil production in the area, which is in the Sussex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The residents argue that the oil well test, which is planned to involve a continually burning flare and running generator, will have a devastating impact on the village and the local environment, as well as contribute to the global climate crisis via the release of greenhouse gas emissions. They took their legal challenge to the High Court in July 2023, and lost ([2023] EWHC 2548 (Admin)). In a Court of Appeal hearing starting today they are challenging that decision. According to the website of their solicitors, Leigh Day & Co, they have four grounds of appeal. “The judge approached [the decision] on the basis of taking into account the benefits of the future production of hydrocarbons without taking into account the impact of doing so,” David Woolfe KC, appearing for the residents, said today when opening his case. Lawyers for the residents also argue that the High Court judge was wrong to find that the planning inspector did not take into account the benefits of the future extraction of hydrocarbons, while excluding the harms of it. In addition, they say the judge did not correctly interpret policies from the West Sussex Joint Local Minerals Plan 2018, did not consider the exceptional circumstances relating to the development being in an AONB, and wrongly dismissed a complaint that the inspector had not considered the impact on a nearby reservoir.   The hearing is scheduled to last for two days, with judgment given at a later date. Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association (appellants) v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and others (respondents) Court of Appeal