OIL PLANS RISK CAUSING PANIC IN HOUSING MARKET - HUHNE

11.20.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 18th Apr 2008

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne called on Northern Petroleum to come clean about its proposals for oil drilling in Hedge End and Botley or risk hitting the local housing market.

"The cloak and dagger approach of Northern Petroleum is just making matters worse for thousands of householders in Hedge End and Botley who now fear that their homes could be blighted by industrial development" said Mr Huhne. "The company must be open and honest about their plans or they could cause even more problems for the local housing market".

Mr Huhne said that their previous plans for oil drilling in Hedge End and Botley had been found to be "completely inappropriate for a quiet residential area" and he doubted that the judgement would be different today.

He sought assurances from Northern Petroleum that the proposed site will not be near residential areas or on gap land between Hedge End, Botley and Horton Heath.

"Before anything is done, there must be a full public consultation in conjunction with the local authorities - both Hampshire County Council as the minerals authority and Eastleigh."