A leading medical firm is promising new jobs for Chipping Norton to make up for the forthcoming closure of the Parker Knoll furniture factory -- but says it will have to expand into open countryside in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

West Oxfordshire councillors have to decide between providing jobs or protecting the environment when considering an application by Owen Mumford for a major extension of its factory at the town's Primsdown industrial site.

The extension would see the premises expand from about 38,000 to 65,000 sq ft, using a 6.8 hectare field at the rear of the factory, off Worcester Road.

The Parker Knoll furniture factory, which until now was the town's biggest employer, will close by the end of this year with an overall loss of 500 jobs.

Mayor Don Davidson said: "The Parker Knoll closure is dramatic and quite devastating for the town.

"If we get reasonable employment opportunities -- and Owen Mumford is certainly that -- we should take them.

"We're well aware of the green fields issue, but at a time of falling employment opportunities, a certain amount of common sense has to come into play."