In early 2016, with Europa’s three-year planning window ticking, protectors established a camp on the proposed drill site. The strategy was simple: make it as difficult and expensive as possible for Europa to meet those 23 planning conditions before their permission expired.
What started as a few tents became a cathedral built from donated pallets – including an articulated lorry-load that appeared after a chance conversation in a Dorking pub. Tunnels were dug beneath the camp. At its peak, up to 30 people occupied the site.
In June 2017, bailiffs moved in at dawn. It took specialist tunnelling experts days to extract protesters from what they called “the most complex tunnel system since Swampy in 1996.” The operation cost Europa a fortune.
The camp moved across the road and continued. For another year, protectors maintained their presence while Europa struggled with the planning conditions and watched their deadline approach. The combination of legal constraints, physical occupation, sustained public pressure and mounting costs became unsustainable.
In September 2018, Europa Oil & Gas announced they would no longer pursue the Bury Hill Wood site and withdrew all planning applications. In October 2020, UK Oil & Gas (who had taken over from Europa) formally relinquished the exploration licence.
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