Taking Legal Action for the Environment

Talk given by Weald Action Group members at the Chichester Friends Meeting House on Sep26th 2023
Weald Action Group support local communities fighting onshore oil and gas field development and extraction (mainly in Sussex).
https://www.wealdactiongroup.org.uk/
Sarah Finch, Sue Taylor, and Lorraine Inglis explain their experiences of using legal action to protect the environment as part of the Weald Action Group.
Alex Clayton, chair of Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis gives an additional Hampshire perspective about using the law to fight hydrocarbon extraction in the South of England.

Sarah Finch
In 2019 Sarah challenged Surrey County Council (SCC), on behalf of the Weald Action Group on their decision to allow the drilling of four oil wells at Horse hill, near Gatwick airport, shortly after they had declared a climate emergency. Her main case was that the emissions from burning any of the oil extracted were not considered when the planning was granted. If she won the case, it would have huge implications for all drilling and mining applications in the country.

Sarah’s case went to the High Court in 2020 but the decision went against her. Her case went to the Appeal Court in 2021, where one of the three judges agreed with her case. In June this year her case was heard in the Supreme Court. The judgement will be issues later this year. Find out more.

Sue Taylor
Sue is a founder member of the Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association (FFBRA). Balcombe hit the headlines in 2013 because of the anti-fracking protests there and the huge police pushback. The FFBRA challenge to the planning permission in 2014 failed.

However, in 2021 West Sussex County Council voted unanimously to reject a planning application for a new well test at Balcombe. The oil company, Angus Energy, appealed and earlier this year the communities secretary, Michael Gove, overruled this council decision. In July this year a statutory review of this decision was heard in the Royal courts of Justice.

Lorraine Inglis
Lorraine is the co-founder of Weald Action Group, an umbrella group of anti-drilling groups in the South of England.

Lorraine has been a driving force in supporting legal campaigns. As well as the current legal cases she was central to the legal challenge to the UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) injunctions against “Persons Unknown”. This would have effectively made protest at oil and gas sites a contempt of court offence for anyone and everyone who attended or even publicised a protest. Contempt of court convictions can result in large fines and even prison sentences. Three Sussex sites, Balcombe, Broadford Bridge and Markwells Wood were included in this injunction. This legal challenge resulted in significant reductions in the scope of the injunctions.Lorraine has developed a considerable expertise, both in the legal challenges and liaising with law firms, as well as fund raising and generally keeping “the wagon on the road”. She is a Steering Committee member of Netpol (The Network for Police Monitoring) and has been the lead coordinator in Frack Free Sussex, Frack Free Surrey and Frack Off London.