AN ANTI-FRACKING protest camp has been set up at the Horse Hill drilling site near Horley.
Protesters have been staying in tents outside the site, where oil was recently discovered, since last Monday, the day after campaign group Frack Free Surrey organised a protest picnic.
Horse Hill Developments, the company which operates the site, has repeatedly stressed that the drill is for "conventional" oil targets and not shale gas.
Frack Free Surrey member Rob Basto told the Mirror: "They are likely to stay there as long as the drill rig is down there. It's quite a small group and people are coming and going.
"It's just people who feel that they needed to do that. It's good [for them] to be there and make their presence known, they are getting a lot of support from local people."
Frack Free Surrey and nearby residents have been concerned after a statement last month from oil company Magellan, which owns a 35 per cent stake in the site, appeared to suggest fracking could take place there.
A subsequent release by Horse Hill Developments clarified it is a "conventional drilling project and none of the other partners have any interest in exploring unconventional opportunities".
But, despite this reaffirmation, protests have continued to take place. Around 50 people attended a public meeting in Empire Hall, Horley, on Monday to discuss the site and the potential for fracking in Surrey in the future.
Scott Bradley, chief executive of Horse Hill Developments, said: "We are having an open dialogue with the local community, and would like to stress once again that this is a conventional well and none of the interested parties have any intention whatsoever of unconventional drilling."
