Villagers have united to oppose a plan by Oxford University to expand a science park on to a greenfield site.

More than 150 residents of Begbroke, near Kidlington, attended a meeting at the village hall last night to discuss plans to expand Begbroke Business and Science Park, in Sandy Lane.

It wants to provide facilities to develop nanotechnology, by which molecules can be re-configured to create materials with special characteristics, such as super-light copper.

The development would see the office area expand from 6,000sq m to more than 21,000sq m and traffic increase from 50 cars at peak times to more than 160.

County council highways officers say Sandy Lane cannot cope and a new road would have to be built on green belt land linking the science park to the A44 for the project to be allowed.

Residents say more cars on the already busy roads in the village would make them very dangerous.

Colin Brough, 55, of Fernhill Road, said: "We're very concerned that, in the future, the university will develop land next to this new road for houses."

Cherwell District Council will debate the application on February 14.