How worried are you about government policies? Policies on climate change, air quality, water quality, sewage discharges, housing policies, road building, airport expansion, walking and cycling… the list goes on.
How can we get government policies changed?
For some it is to protest, others sign petitions, some work locally to at least get some local change, but at some point we often start to wonder if we should challenge in the courts. But how difficult might this be, how expensive, how do you get a legal team together, and how scary is it?
The Chichester and Arun Green Party has invited three speakers to talk to us about legal actions opposing oil and gas drilling: Sarah Finch, Sue Taylor and Lorraine Inglis. Please see below for their short biographies. Everyone is welcome to join us, to discuss these issues and hear more about our speakers’ experiences with the legal system.
The event will take place on Tuesday 26 September 2023 at the Friends Meeting House on Priory Road in Chichester at 7pm and the guest speakers are:
Sarah FinchIn 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 TaylorSue 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 InglisLorraine 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.
Come and join us on Tuesday 26 September, 7pm at the Friends Meeting House, Priory Road, Chichester, PO19 1NX. Registration is free but we would ask for a small donation to help cover the costs for this event. Click here to reserve a spot.
If you can, please plan your journey on public transport. You can contact Ann on arunchigreen@gmail.com if you are able to offer, or would like to request, a lift share. We look forward to seeing you there.