Horley will have ‘mixed reaction’ to massive oil find

The chairman of Horley Town Council has said townspeople will have mixed reactions after up to 100bn barrels of oil was found in a nearby village.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Apr 2015, 11:24 BST
CO 090315 Horley Town Council Council taking part in th the "Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth" initiative, helped by local school children. Horley Mayor Cllr Richard Olliver raises the flag helped by Faith and Charlie both aged 7. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-150903-150845001CO 090315 Horley Town Council Council taking part in th the "Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth" initiative, helped by local school children. Horley Mayor Cllr Richard Olliver raises the flag helped by Faith and Charlie both aged 7. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-150903-150845001
CO 090315 Horley Town Council Council taking part in th the "Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth" initiative, helped by local school children. Horley Mayor Cllr Richard Olliver raises the flag helped by Faith and Charlie both aged 7. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-150903-150845001

UK Oil & Gas Investments confirmed the find beneath Horse Hill this morning (Thursday April 9).

Chief executive Stephen Sanderson said it meant The Weald area could yield up to 30 per cent of the UK’s oil demand.

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The chairman, Cllr Richard Olliver (Con, Horley North East) said: “It must be done in a way that takes into account local views.

“Traffic is something people worry about, we have had an awful lot of road works in East Surrey lately and the disruption it causes.

“I can see some people will not like it and other people thinking it’s brilliant but it depends what effect it has on the locality.”

Cllr Olliver said if work to extract the oil went ahead, the road to Horse Hill from Horley would need to be redesigned to avoid traffic jams.

He also raised concerns over the environmental and visual impact of extracting the oil at the site.

Related topics:Horley Town Council