This is a call near, far and wide, to those who live locally and love Leith Hill, those who over the years have come from London or further afield to share walks, bike rides, bluebell picnics or just embrace the spell-binding beauty of Leith Hill, to those who we’ve worked with over the years.
Now, we have a huge fight on our hands.
Leith Hill is under threat for oil exploration.
Just a short bike ride from our studio and 2 minutes from The Plough Pub in Coldharbour, Europa Gas & Oil want to drill. This means perimeter fences with razor wire, 24 floodlit deterrent lighting, constant red flashing beacon on top of a 35m mast, thousands of HGV’s up and down the ancient sunken lane. This is an area that has been protected since 1958 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest that supports a diverse community of breeding birds, woodpeckers, warblers, redstarts, dormice, rare plants and numerous invertebrates of national and county significance.
On Saturday 3 December, a walk and celebration of Leith Hill is being planned in huge opposition to plans to drill for oil on this most beautiful and special hill
Saturday 3 December at 12:00, meet at Leith Hill Tower to share a love for this place and to resist Europa Oil & Gas drilling for oil on Leith Hill.
Leith Hill is where Charles Darwin did some of his formative work on earthworms, Vaughan Williams composed Lark Ascending and Tennyson was inspired to write poems. Seven years of sustained legal campaigning has been overthrown by the government to drill at all cost. A month ago people started erecting dwellings and tents on the site – they are the ‘protectors’ and what is extraordinary is how their presence has galvanised the local community with food rotas, people dropping off hundreds of bales of hay, masses of crates, building materials, string and nails. We photographed one of the protectors, and the work titled “Protector Leith Hill No Drill” is in exhibition at the Mile End Pavilion, until 27 November. We will then install the artwork here during Dorking Gala Night to draw attention to the gathering on Leith Hill on 3rd December.
The south-east, Leith Hill and the Weald is under huge threat of exploitation for oil, gas and fracking. This map shows permissions and licenses pending or granted in the south-east. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/454338/Onshore14thHRAv5.pdf
What happens here on this hill has huge national significance. If the government can rip up decades of nature protection for this place, nowhere is safe. And the stark warnings of extreme weather events happening here and everywhere else show without shadow of doubt the oil needs to stay in the ground.
Join Leith Hill Protection Camp here –
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LeithHillCamp/
A local filmmaker has put together a short doc giving voice to people’s concern
And this shows what the govn and UKOG want to see across our green and pleasant land –
Leith Hill Proposed Drill site