THE uncertain future of the former air base at Upper Heyford is preventing one of north Oxfordshire's biggest employers from doubling its workforce.

Fleet management firm Keddy Services, which acts for Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Audi, Volkswagen and Nissan, wants to create an extra 500 jobs at the former air base.

But the planned expansion has been put on ice while Cherwell District Council and the North Oxfordshire Consortium dispute the site's future.

David Gibson, managing director of Keddy, said: "I understand the realities of life.

"The consortium wants to make more money and build more houses. The local authority wants to look after the people that vote for it.

"But what I hate most of all is politics and I feel that is what we are a bit embroiled in at the moment."

The council has agreed a ceiling of 1,000 new houses to be built on the site and has the support of Oxfordshire County Council. The consortium wants to build a new town with 5,000 houses, schools, shops and a large industrial site that would create 7,500 jobs.

Keddy, which has an annual turnover of about £20m, was encouraged by the council to move from its old headquarters in Slough in June 1995, on condition that it created 300 jobs.

The company has more than complied and now employs 525 people at Upper Heyford and another 56 at a smaller site in Grimsby.

Keddy wants a long-term extension to its present lease which ends in May 2000 and permission to build more office space. Its planning applications are due to be considered next Thursday, but councillors have been postponing lease renewals for any company at the site while it discusses the way forward.

Keddy prepares cars for shows and exhibitions all over the world, delivers cars to TV and film companies and organises fleet cars.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.