High Court upholds UK Oil & Gas planning consent for Loxley

UK Oil & Gas announced on Friday that the High Court had rejected legal challenges by Protect Dunsfold and Waverley Borough Council against the decision to grant planning permission for Loxley - a conventional gas and hydrogen feedstock project in Surrey.

The AIM-traded firm said Loxley planning consent thus remained in full force, and the company's plans to implement the project remained unchanged.

It said Mrs Justice Lang considered both challenges as "unarguable", and ordered Waverley and Protect Dunsfold to pay costs of a respective £8,835 and £3,000.

The result followed the decision in June by Stuart Andrew, the Minister for Housing, to overturn Surrey County Council's refusal of planning consent.

UKOG said it had “consistently stated” that Loxley could “play its part” in the government's hydrogen and British energy security strategies, via the supply of gas as feedstock for reformation into clean burning hydrogen.

It was the company's and its legal counsel's view that, while further challenges by either claimant were expected, the “emphatic rulings” of both the secretary of state and the High Court made the likelihood of their success “highly doubtful”.

In any case, the firm said it would continue to “rigorously defend” its position in any subsequent action as and when it might occur.

“We welcome this further emphatic legal decision upholding planning consent for the company's material conventional gas and hydrogen feedstock project in Surrey,” said chief executive officer Stephen Sanderson.

“Whilst we fully accept the right to review such material decisions, it cannot be fair or just that opponents to the decision are given so many opportunities to make the same argument repeatedly and seemingly regardless of prior dismissals.

“We therefore urge the government to swiftly implement its proposed changes to the planning system for key infrastructure projects if it is serious about delivering energy self-sufficiency and associated meaningful economic growth.”

At 1251 BST, shares in UK Oil & Gas were up 0.69% at 0.07p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.