LOUD jeers from residents echoed around a packed hall tonight as Tesco held a public meeting over the controversial construction of its supermarket in Gerrards Cross.

Furious householders were allowed to grill senior members of the team overseeing construction at the troubled site in Packhorse Road.

The Memorial Hall in East Common Lane was at times filled with jeers and heckles as the Tesco panel tried to make its points.

Around 200 people flocked to the meeting which was arranged when the supermarket giant announced recently it would continue with the project.

Malcolm Brummer, Property Governance Director of Tesco, began the meeting by explaining the future plans for the store and the rebuilding of the railway tunnel.

He also outlined some of the reasons behind the tunnel collapse in June 2005.

He said: "Saving costs is not an issue in this process. There is no substitute for safety."

The angry onlookers raised many concerns with the panel. They asked questions about the length of time the project was taking, why the store was even being built when it was so unpopular, and time and again, they returned to the thorny issue of Tesco's use of incinerator bottom ash aggregate.

Only a handful of positive comments were made in the site's favour throughout the two-and-a-quarter hour meeting.

Robin Wiltshire, of Ethorpe Crescent, said: "I feel it was a PR exercise. It was almost seen as preferable to allow people to vent their opinions. They weren't really hearing what the majority of people were saying."

Another resident, Andrew White, who lives near the site, said: "I guess that most residents will feel that Tesco didn't really address the central questions. and we will see whether Tesco live up to what they said about listening to their customers as we are a roomful of potential customers."

Peter Hardy, a district councillor for Gerrards Cross, said: "I think it was a very useful meeting. I'm very concerned about the length of time being taken to continue with this project. Tesco should get out completely or get the project done and dusted. It's a disaster for the community and a disaster for Tesco."

Michael Kissman, Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager, said: "We have committed to updating people in Gerrards Cross in our announcement last week and for sharing all details of the project.

"Most importantly, we recognise that local people have a variety of questions they want to put directly to us. This meeting was incredibly useful to us and we will continue to talk to the community as the project progresses."