ANOTHER 700 jobs are scheduled to come on line at the former site of Rover's old North and South Works, now Oxford Business Park, writes Chris Koenig.

This follow's last week's news that Rover are to take on another 1,000 employees at their new Cowley plant, plus an extra 2,500 in Oxfordshire's component industry.

Owners of the park, Arlington Securities, have promised the new jobs will be created by next summer.

Arlington's chief executive Patrick Deighman made the jobs pledge to employment minister Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East, and to the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Carole Roberts, at a ceremony held to bury a time capsule at the Park.

Mr Deighman presented tokens to four children from St Francis Church of England School, Cowley, with a cheque for school funds.

The capsule, prepared by second, third, and fourth-year children at the school, contained information about what children were doing in 1998 and further material gleaned from parents and grandparents.

So far 1,800 jobs have been created at the Park.

The figure is due to rise to 2,000 by the end of August and to 2,500 by next summer. The capsule was buried in the grounds of the the newly completed Nash Court complex of five office blocks on the south side of the Park, all of which have now been let.

Mr Smith said: "Each successful new phase of the Oxford Business Park is like a new birth and the site is rising from the ashes of the former Rover works, creating extra work in the process."

He added: "It is also excellent news that there is to be a creche next to the hotel which will have benefits for those on and off the business park."

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