UK Oil & Gas lodges appeal against Surrey County Council

UK Oil & Gas said on Wednesday that it had now lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate against Surrey County Council's 15 December decision to refuse planning consent for the Loxley gas appraisal project.

The AIM-traded firm said that, Covid-19 pandemic permitting, it expected a public inquiry to be held in the autumn, with a decision by the end of 2021.

It said its leading counsel was still advising that there were “strong grounds” to expect a positive appeal outcome, as the council’s cited grounds for refusal were in “direct conflict” with the advice of its professional planning and highway officers, and their respective recommendations for approval.

As it said in September, in terms of recoverable gas resources, UKOG’s wholly-owned Loxley was estimated to be one of the largest gas accumulations discovered and flow tested in the UK onshore.

Its success case was estimated to be capable of providing energy to power around 200,000 homes per year.

“We take comfort that the future of Loxley as a low-impact hydrogen feedstock project will now be decided by a professional planning inspector, who must consider hard facts, not fiction, and arrive at a decision that is wholly consistent with the objective evidence presented,” said chief executive officer Stephen Sanderson.

“Our planning case is strong and we remain confident of a positive result.”

At 1157 GMT, shares in UK Oil & Gas were up 0.38% at 0.13p.