Update on our claim concerning the Environment Agency's failure to enforce a breached environmental permit

Our court claim was submitted on 2 April 2026.

Nothing disclosed by the Environment Agency to date changes our position or addresses the significant concerns we have raised.The case centres on the Refinery operating on a breached environmental permit since 1 November 2025.

We continue to be concerned that the breach categorisation was downgraded in a way that appears inconsistent with available evidence and risk indicators and we do not believe that the EA has provided a sufficient rational explanation for this downgrade, nor for the continued operation of the site despite multiple warnings issued to the operator since 2018.

In 2025, the EA set a strict compliance deadline to the Operator, of 31 October 2025, stating that operations would be curtailed if compliance was not achieved.

As of today, operations have not been curtailed, and the permit breach remains unresolved.

We await to hear if the case will proceed for a Judicial Review.

Thank you!

To every single person who has donated to this David & Goliath legal case!

This case has been built by residents, to protect residents, when others didn't.

Our dedicated campaign has joined regulatory and legal dots that others hoped we wouldn't - and we will continue to fight.

Within the hundreds of pages of documents we’ve reviewed, one issue is consistently documented: Essar refinery has not met BAT52 requirements for a prolonged period — at least eight years according to the records.

Rather than enforcing the regulations intended to protect residents, the documents show repeated waivers and extensions granted to Essar, at their request, with the rationale that the upgrades required to achieve compliance were considered too costly.

Since 2018, VOC levels have remained outside legal limits.

This is profit over people, in plain sight — and we will keep fighting to bring the full truth into the open.

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far — we’re now just £150 away from our minimum target!

If you are able to donate a few extra pounds - or share this campaign fundraiser - it would make a huge difference!

Alongside this (and future) legal cases, I will continue to highlight the regulation gaps that are;

At best — insufficient and unavailable to the public, 

and at worst, putting public health and environment at risk. 

We believe the current regulation, by the Environment Agency, is the product of a deeply flawed system which has been allowed to operate without real scrutiny, placing profits over people.

Your support is helping us challenge that

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Further detailed update below

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LEGAL CASE UPDATE

I’ve now had an update from the MP’s office and the Environment Agency — and I want to be transparent about what I can share.

The EA has confirmed that the permit waiver expired in October, and the refinery is still saying the fix will be delivered by the end of March. 

The EA is calling this “enforcement.”

Note: this project was meant to be delivered last year, and was the basis for another waiver to be approved ......

But let’s be honest: asking a company to “please hurry up” when they have already missed the prefix deadline, is not enforcement. It’s the industry dictating the timeline while the regulator steps back and accepts it.

My lawyer has reviewed the EA’s position, and we strongly disagree that this counts as appropriate enforcement. This will form part of the next legal letter going to the EA.

I’m unable to share the full email chain for legal reasons, but the key point is this:

Residents are still being told to wait — again — while the refinery promises future compliance. 

Meanwhile, the permit has already expired.

This is exactly why we’re taking legal action.  

Because “they said they’ll fix it by March” is not regulation.  

It’s not protection.  

And it’s not good enough for a community that has been raising concerns for years.