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Item 7 1 TO: PLANNING & REGULATORY COMMITTEE DATE: 9 NOVEMBER 2011 BY: PLANNING DEVELOPMENT CONTROL TEAM MANAGER DISTRICT(S) REIGATE & BANSTEAD BOROUGH COUNCIL ELECTORAL DIVISION(S): Horley West Mrs Hammond PURPOSE: FOR DECISION GRID REF: 525304 143595 TITLE: MINERALS AND WASTE APPLICATION: RE10/2089 SUMMARY REPORT Land off Horse Hill, Hookwood, Horley, Surrey Construction of an exploratory wellsite to include plant, buildings and equipment; the use of the wellsite for the drilling of one exploratory borehole and the subsequent short term testing for hydrocarbons; the erection of security fencing; construction of a new access onto Horse Hill and an associated access track with passing bays, all on some 1.16 ha, for a temporary period of up to 3 years, with restoration to agriculture and woodland. The application is concerned with the first stage of on-shore hydrocarbon development – exploration. It would involve the construction of an above ground drillsite where following the drilling of an exploratory borehole, short term testing for hydrocarbons would take place to assess the prospect. The application is for a planning permission extending over a temporary period of three years. However, it is proposed that the site would only be operational for a 20 to 21 week period within the three year period. It is necessary to consider the proposal against European, National, Regional and Development Plan policies and assess the potential environmental and amenity impacts against those policies, the advice provided by statutory and non-statutory consultees and the views expressed by other bodies, groups and individuals. The Authority must be satisfied that the potential impacts arising from the development are acceptable in terms of the nearest residential properties and the local environment and amenities. The proposed hydrocarbon exploration site does not fall within an area, or site, designated for its landscape or nature conservation importance. It is however, located on farmland within a rural area in the Green Belt. A key issue is the need for the development. Despite a steady increase in the production of energy from renewable sources, oil and gas remain vital parts of the United Kingdom's (UK) energy mix and national energy policy seeks to secure reliability of supply. The Government's short to medium term aim set out in Minerals Policy Statement 1 (MPS1), is to 'maximise the potential of the UK's conventional oil and gas reserves in an environmentally acceptable manner'. In 2010 the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed that the aim set out in MPS1 is still current and valid and DECC's website currently states, 'we aim to maximise the economic recovery of oil and gas from the UK's oil and gas reserves, taking full account of environmental, social and economic objectives'. The applicant has identified a hydrocarbon prospect and to maximise the potential of a reserve, it is first necessary to investigate and assess a prospective resource. Officers give significant weight to the statements made in MPS1 regarding the need to maximise the potential of the UK's