Just got thrown off the Telegram chat1 Jul 2026 11:12
I’ve just been removed from ALK Telegram group after challenging the view that planning permission would be submitted this week.
For transparency, I have now exited my position because I think the share price is likely to drift lower over the coming months. My view is that near-term news flow may be limited, and that the chances of securing meaningful FID-level funding before a full planning application is submitted are relatively low.
The point I think is being underpriced is the timing consequence of moving from the previously consented Wilton site to the new Billingham site. The old permission cannot simply be “ported” to Stockton. Billingham is a different planning authority, site, drainage network, hydrology baseline and receptor environment. Therefore TVL needs a fresh full planning application to Stockton, supported by a new Environmental Statement.
The public record suggests TVL is not yet in formal determination. Billingham has been through screening and scoping, and the scheme has been confirmed as Schedule 1 EIA Development. That means the full planning application must be accompanied by an Environmental Statement. As of the 30 June briefing, no full planning application had been submitted, so the project remained in pre-application / EIA preparation rather than inside the 16-week statutory EIA decision period.
I would also note that Environmental Health’s 9 June comments appear material to the planning timeline. The officer stated that the previous 2013 desktop contamination study was outdated, that CLR11 had been superseded by LCRM, and that a staged updated assessment process would be required.
I do not say this makes the site unsuitable — it is a chemical / manufacturing park, which helps the principle of development — but it does mean old Wilton material cannot simply be relied on without site-specific updating.
What concerns me is that, following this 9 June Environmental Health position, I have not seen an RNS clearly updating investors on the planning-timetable implications. Given the company’s stated project timeline, I think investors deserve clarity on whether the full EIA planning application is still imminent or whether additional technical work is required before submission.
Separately, around that period, claims circulated that a parliamentary select committee video implied a £50m government grant was coming to TVL. I challenged this at the time because I could not see direct evidence that the committee was specifically referring to TVL. The share price reaction also reinforces my caution. Following the speculation, the shares moved sharply higher, but have since retreated.
The financial risk is that delay to planning submission delays permission, FID and project finance but management’s 18-month forecasts are still on a pre-project finance / pre-FID basis, requiring £3m to £4.2m.
So, for me, the risk is not necessarily planning refusal. It is delay
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