VILLAGERS have warned that they will fight moves to build thousands of homes between Garsington and Oxford.

More than 150 people attended a packed public meeting in Garsington Village Hall on Tuesday called to assess local views about developing green land near the village.

And two Oxford colleges were left in no doubt about the level of opposition they will face if they seek to build on the Green Belt, separating the village from Cowley.

The meeting was organised by Garsington Parish Council, as the inquiry into the South East Plan was examining the idea of using Green Belt land to meet the housing needs of the region.

The Garsington meeting heard that nearby green land was especially vulnerable with both Magdalen and Brasenose hoping to use their land for development.

As major local landowners, the two university colleges would stand to make millions from any major redrawing of the Green Belt.

Ann Tomline, South Oxfordshire district councillor for Garsington, said: "Villagers do no want to see Garsington become part of the city of Oxford.

"Traffic is already horrendous going into Oxford. We don't want to to be joined up to the city. The meeting was one of the first opportunities local people have had to have their say. And people made clear that they want to protect the village.

"We all know that we need some new housing. But it would be better to have some small development within the village, which could help sustain it, rather than mass housing on such a scale with 8,000 new homes."

In the run-up to the public inquiry, the issue of extending Oxford has focused on moves to build 3,500 homes on land owned by Magdalen College and Thames Water off Grenoble Road, with the development stretching from Sandford in the West to Garsington Road in the east.

Oxford City Council later revealed that it was ready to release a 250-acre city council-owned site to create a settlement that would be as large as Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys combined.

Land off Oxford Road, Garsington, owned by Brasenose College, has also been offered for development.

Elizabeth Gillespie, of Baldons Parish Council, who spoke at the meeting, said: "It was apparent that Garsington people had been unaware of the threat facing their village. I think they believed there was going to be a little extension to the science park. But now they are determined to stave off the pending danger."

In a joint statement submitted to the South East Plan inspectors, Magdalen College and Thames Water urge a review of the Oxford Green Belt.

It says: "In view of the development pressures, we envisage that the overall growth required in the Green Belt could be substantial.

"The concern now is to set in place a robust strategy that will be capable of securing the early delivery of new housing in accordance with the strategy.

"Oxford City Council indicates that there is a major imbalance in the availability of workers and jobs in the city - and that there is therefore a need to develop outside the city."

Ms Tomline said many villagers were planning to go en masse to the examination in public of the South East plan in the New Year, when the inquiry meets in Reading to discuss the future of the Green Belt.

After three years of negotiations and consultation the planning blueprint for the region, known as the South East Plan, finally went before planning inspectors at the end of November. The inquiry, presently sitting in Woking, will continue until the end of March.

Ms Tomline added that there were now real fears that Garsington could go the way of areas such as Botley, Cowley and Kennington by becoming suburbs of the city.