Morrison says it remains committed to Bradford despite closure

The supermarket said 456 jobs are at risk at its Cutler Heights site

Morrisons said it "remains committed to Bradford" despite announcing plans to shut a fruit-packing plant putting 450 jobs at risk.

The supermarket chain will merge its Cutler Heights factory with another site in Northamptonshire.

Concerns were raised in a meeting of Bradford Council.

Labour council leader Susan Hinchliffe said she had asked for a meeting with the firm's managers about the support being offered to the workforce.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Hinchliffe told the meeting: "We were all very concerned to hear of nearly 500 people facing the prospect of being made redundant at Morrisons.

"That is a high number in any business but for Morrisons - a proud firm founded in Bradford - it is particularly concerning."

Green councillor Matt Edwards said he was "pleased to see the council is being so proactive on this".

"It will have big implications for the south of Bradford," he said.

"A lot of Tong ward residents work at Morrisons, and there are also concerns about what will happen to the site going forward."

The company said it would be "consolidating" and moving all operations to its other fruit packing site in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, more than 150 miles away from the city the supermarket chain was founded in in 1899.

Other jobs would be moved to Wakefield.

Morrisons said the changes would help with efficiency savings, together with a reduction of about 650,000 food miles annually.

The Cutler Heights site is due to be retained and repurposed into a pet food manufacturing operation, but the company said this would take some time.

The centre on Cutler Heights Lane was the supermarket's first produce site

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "Morrisons remains committed to Bradford, to Yorkshire and to our roots as we ever were.

"We employ over 2,000 colleagues at our head office and a further 6,000 in our stores and sites in West Yorkshire.

"Over time, we also hope to bring new business into the site in Bradford."