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Protect Dunsfold Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Waverley Borough Council v SSLUHC - judgment

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Protect Dunsfold Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Waverley Borough Council v SSLUHC - Other

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Protect Dunsfold Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Waverley Borough Council v SSLUHC - press release

Filing Year For Action

In June 2022, the UK government granted an exploratory planning permission for UK Oil & Gas to explore for oil and gas near the village of Dunsfold in Surrey, close to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This came after Surrey County Council had refused the scheme, with the government thereby overturning the Council’s decision. The claimants are now challenging the government’s decision to grant the planning permission. In July 2023, the High Court dismissed the challenge.
The claimants argued that:
-	the Secretary of State had not complied with national policy requiring him to give “great weight” to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty as the starting point in his decision (ground 1);
-	the Secretary of State failed to explain a key inconsistency in his decision-making, which makes it unlawful. Namely, the same day the Secretary of State allowed the project at Dunsfold, he refused permission for a similar scheme because of its potential impact on the climate due to greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from the proposal at Dunsfold would be higher than the other scheme (ground 2).
The judge dismissed both grounds. She found:
-	on ground 1: That the Secretary of State had reached an adequate interpretation of the policies when considering exploratory planning in an area of AONB.  
-	on ground 2: The ‘similar scheme’ at Ellesmere Port was refused for distinct reasons, specifically that of climate change whereas at Dunsfold this was not the sole reason for refusal, meaning there is not an issue of inconsistency between the decisions.
On January 9, 2024 it was reported that the Court of Appeal had refused the claimants permission to appeal, bringing their challenge to an end.

Protect Dunsfold Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Waverley Borough Council v SSLUHC

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Protect Dunsfold Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Waverley Borough Council v SSLUHC - judgment

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance