THERE was standing room only as more than 100 Botley and Hedge End residents listened to a presentation about a planning bid to carry out an exploratory drill for oil on farmland at Woodhouse Lane on the Botley and Hedge End border.

Northern Petroleum managing director Derek Musgrove told the meeting at Scout headquarters behind the Botley Centre: "This is to try and provide you with information - not to argue the case."

Reassurances were given about safety, noise, traffic and vibration concerns. The company claimed that drilling rigs had operated without complaint at distances shorter than the 300 metres the Hedge End rig would be from the nearest house.

The majority of the audience remained sceptical and hostile to the drilling application, which Hampshire County Council is likely to decide next month.

During a presentation and question-and-answer session, the meeting heard that tests in 1988 had established there was oil beneath the ground at Hedge End and that another 30 potential sites had been identified for test drilling to establish whether it would flow in commercial quantities.

Because the area was so built-up, the land near Woodhouse Lane was chosen as most likely to meet the criteria for a planning application.

Botley Parish Council chairman Colin Mercer caught the mood of the meeting when he told oil chiefs: "The particular site you have chosen happens to be on Hampshire County Council land, which is very convenient.

"I see no reason why you can't move to a site further away from people and use angular drilling to get to the pockets you want."

At a meeting of Botley Parish Council's Planning and Highways Committee, which followed the public meeting, members agreed to tell Hampshire County Council they believed the application was an "inappropriate industrial operation" in a large populated area.

Parish councillors said the company should find another site further away.

They agreed to raise concerns about issues including noise and potential financial impact on property prices.