Europa Oil & Gas has been granted environmental permits for its drilling site in Dorking, Surrey.

The permits allow the exploration and production company to drill a new oil well at Holmwood, store oil on site and manage any radioactive waste arising from these activities.

The Environmental Agency said it carried out a “detailed assessment” of the application and considered all legal requirements along with comments received though two rounds of public consultation before issuing the permits.

The company must comply with “stringent conditions” to ensure the environment and local people are protected.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have carefully considered all of the information received and are confident, in issuing these permits, that we have the right controls in place to ensure operations are carried out safely.

“The Environment Agency plays a key role in protecting the environment. We take an evidence-based approach to regulation and had to be satisfied that the necessary protections were in place before we would allow exploration to begin.”

Europa Oil & Gas will, however, need to have all relevant permissions in place from other regulatory authorities before it can start operations on site.