No more Isle of Wight25 Mar 2022 13:15
Isle of Wight
The disappointing, but not unexpected, decision by the Isle of Wight's planning committee to refuse consent for the appraisal and testing of the Arreton discovery merely served to underscore our growing interest in the international arena for oil and gas, and our new direction into geothermal and hydrogen-based energy in the UK. The refusal went against the recommendation by the council's planning officers to approve the project.
We took considerable care and undertook much research to minimise the potential impacts of the site, choosing a location 300m distant from the A3056 and adjacent to land with existing non-agricultural commercial uses, namely the Wight Farm Anaerobic Digestion Energy Power Station and the Blackwater Quarry for aggregates. No objections to the development were raised by statutory consultees on environmental, drinking water, landscape or health and safety grounds.
Given the number of new opportunities available to the Company, all of which are considered to offer far greater success case economic impact and higher probabilities of success than the proposed Isle of Wight project, the Company has decided not to appeal against the planning refusal. The envisaged £0.5 million planning appeal costs will therefore remain available and could be used for developing new oil & gas and geothermal/energy storage projects (see New Ventures below).