UK Oil & Gas has announced that it won’t be appealing the decision to refuse planning permission for an oil exploration site in Arreton, marking a success for local campaigners.
In October last year, the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee unanimously decided to refuse UK Oil and Gas’s (UKOG) application for 2 exploratory boreholes off Blackwater Road, due to potential impact on tourism and ‘demonstrable’ impact on the Island’s natural environment.
A petition was handed over with more than 4,000 signatures, but interestingly no objections to the development were raised by statutory consultees on environmental, drinking water, landscape or health and safety grounds. Furthermore, the refusal went against the recommendation by the council’s planning officers to approve the project.
UKOG say that the refusal of permission for appraisal and testing of the Arreton discovery has served to underscore their growing interest in the international arena for oil and gas and the company’s new direction into geothermal and hydrogen-based energy in the UK.
In a statement, UKOG has said:
“Given the number of new opportunities available to the Company, all of which are considered to offer far greater success case economic impact and higher probabilities of success than the proposed Isle of Wight project, the Company has decided not to appeal against the planning refusal.
“The envisaged £0.5 million planning appeal costs will therefore remain available and could be used for developing new oil & gas and geothermal/energy storage projects”.
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Reacting to the news, local Councillor Suzie Ellis has today (Friday) said:
“As the Isle of Wight Council ward member for Central Rural – which includes the parish of Arreton where oil drilling exploration was proposed – I am delighted that UKOG has announced that it will not appeal the refusal of planning permission. This is great news for local residents, campaigners, and the Island as a whole.
“Securing the refusal of this application was a team effort, led by Don’t Drill The Wight. I was pleased to play my part, as the ward councillor, in making the case for refusal in my representations to the Planning Committee”.
A spokesperson for Don’t Drill The Wight has said:
“We are delighted to hear that UKOG has finally decided not to appeal the decision of the planning committee to reject the Arreton Oil site application. It is a huge relief for us all on the island.
“We hope that this will give our council the confidence to include a specific statement within their upcoming review of the Island Minerals and Waste Plan rejecting all plans for fossil fuel exploration and extraction. The Isle of Wight exploration licence is still active until July 2023 but it is doubtful that it will be sold on by UKOG to another operator.
“We are continuing to monitor the Government’s policies on future plans for offshore developments, since the Isle of Wight offshore licence P1916, which was dropped by UKOG in 2018, could be included in the next offshore round of licences.”
