Balcombe’s last Battle!
Angus Energy now has permission to return to Balcombe.
We have a CrowdJustice donation page to help us urgently raise legal costs.
Click to go straight to donation page
In 2013, Cuadrilla drilled a well at Lower Stumble. Since that time Balcombe has been fighting Cuadrilla, now Angus Energy to keep out of the village.
In 2020 Angus Energy applied again for planning permission to return to flow test the well. This received over 800 objections, an objection from Balcombe Parish Council, objections from our District Councillors and a unanimous vote by all 13 West Sussex County Councillors to reject the application. This was the last time we asked for your help and we thank you so much for so many expert and thoughtful objections!
Unfortunately, Angus Energy appealed this decision and were granted their appeal in February 2023, which in plain English means that despite the democratic process rejecting it at every level, this has been overturned and permission has now been granted.
This is the latest in the 10 year fight to keep oil and gas out of Balcombe.
We need to pay our legal costs! And ask you to be so kind as to help us once more by donating to our Crowdjustice page to take this to the High Court by clicking here!:
What is next?
We are extremely fortunate to have secured the help of expert law firm Leigh Day to take the case to the High Court for a statutory review. In order to do this we need to raise £35,000.
We are seeking to have the Decision reviewed on multiple grounds, any one of which could render the Decision unlawful.
Any amount, no matter how small, will help us reach our fundraising goal.
Donate here!
This is a concrete way to make a difference by not only supporting our village but also protecting the environment. Balcombe is in an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB) which should mean this area is protected from developments of this kind. If oil companies can get in here, they can get in anywhere. Our case will set a precedent which will be important for the protection of AONBs and for climate change litigation across the UK
What do Angus Energy have permission for?
- Exploration of the well drilled in 2013 by Cuadrilla “to assess the commercial opportunity of moving the site into production”
- Permission allows up to 2.5 years on site, including a 1 year Extended Well Test (EWT) and a total of 1.5 years of active work
- The year long EWT will be “24/7 to allow the wellbore to continually flow” and involves a 13m flare to burn off associated (and toxic) gases
- The site is called ‘Lower Stumble’. It is between London Road (B2036) and the the railway line, 800m South West of the village, 350m from the nearest home and close to Ouse tributaries which link to Ardingly reservoir
If there is enough oil to be commercially extracted Angus will apply to continually produce oil from the site. At nearby Horse Hill, permission has been granted to drill 4 more wells, enabling 25 years of oil production. The operator emphasised the need to ‘drill your wells almost back-to-back’
We need your support to challenge this decision.
To fight this development NOW, donate directly to our Crowd Justice site by clicking here!
Our Residents Association
Our campaign began as the 'No Fracking in Balcombe Society' (NoFiBs) who first set up this petition. We now run alongside and in support of Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association (FFBRA) which was later founded in 2013 to oppose the presence of the oil industry in our village. We oppose the industrialisation of our village and our wider environment, the potential air and water pollution, toxic waste, earthquakes, health impacts, noise and light pollution, disruption to natural habitats, oversized HGV’s next to our primary school and the stress this imposes on our once peaceful lives. Most importantly we wish to defend the protected status of the area and prevent the contribution to climate change this hydrocarbon extraction brings.
Join us in protecting our village and the environment by donating to our cause to stop Balcombe oil exploration. As a community, we are fighting against Angus Energy's plans to carry out an Extended Well Test (EWT) in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Thank you once again for your continued support - fighting this is fighting climate change!
Green Fields Not Oil Fields