A FURTHER 67 jobs are to go in Okehampton after Robert Wiseman Dairies confirmed it is to close its milk processing plant in the town.

The decision follows a 30-day formal consultation process, with the company asking staff and union representatives to give their views.

Production at the dairy will end during April, and the decision could lead to 67 redundancies, although it is understood staff will be offered a relocation option.

The announcement comes just a month after 232 people were made redundant at PoleStar's Okehampton Desserts factory.

Marty Mulcahy, group operations director at Robert Wiseman Dairies, said: 'Despite exhaustive efforts by staff, management and unions to find ways of bringing costs into line with dairies elsewhere in our network, we have been unable to establish an economic basis for continuing to process milk at Okehampton.

'We very much regret the impact that this decision will have on the area and will provide assistance to those who will be affected.'

The award-winning dairy company moved its Torrington operations to Okehampton in 2006 when it acquired South West dairy co-operative Milk Link and its Peninsula Milk factory on Exeter Road Industrial Estate.

Town councillor and chair of Devon County Council Christine Marsh said: 'I am very saddened by the news, but it doesn't come as a surprise.

'Wisemans were trying to do this before Christmas, and it was only a matter of time before they tried again.'

Cllr Marsh said the idea of staff relocating was good in theory, but would be difficult in practice.

She added: 'This news is disastrous for the town after PoleStar, but at least we now have mechanisms in place for supporting people in this situation.'

John Crick, area representative for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, said the Union would be working to support staff.

'This is very sad news for staff at the factory, and people are very disappointed. However, there is a sense that now workers know the outcome of the consultation, they can start making some decisions about their futures.

'We had a very positive consultation with management, and the workers did put forward a serious suggestion, but sadly the closure is still going ahead.'

Chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council Tim Jones said the news would be a double blow for the town.

'Not only is this another load of job losses at a bad time, but it's also the loss of jobs in one of Okehampton's most traditional areas of employment.

'To lose the link between Okehampton, a wonderful market town with an incredible history, and the raw materials from the local farms, is a massive blow economically and in terms of morale.

'All we can do now is to ensure we work even harder to hang onto the companies we still have in the town.'

Mr Jones added any regeneration of Okehampton would require housing development, and that future jobs would not necessarily be factory-based.

A spokesman for Robert Wiseman Dairies said the company had recently been under significant pressure in a competitive market.

He added: 'We are not a company that is used to closing facilities. We are used to creating jobs and employment. It is a difficult day for Okehampton and a sad day for us as a company.

'We have a duty of care to our staff, and we will fulfill that. We will work with local agencies to help staff find alternative work, and will also be meeting one on one with workers to find out if they would be interested in relocation.'

The spokesman said the firm was 'confident' it would be able to redeploy all 67 workers from Okehampton across its national network, if they wanted to relocate. He also confirmed the company would help staff with the costs of relocation or commuting, if necessary.

The company has recently invested more than £100-million in the South West, creating 500 jobs at its state of the art dairy and distribution facility at Bridgwater in Somerset.

It is not yet certain what will happen to the processing plant, but the spokesman did say rumours the site was owned by a large supermarket chain were 'bonkers'.

It was also reported this week that the town-based chocolate company Browne's had closed.

Browne's have been producing hand-made, award winning chocolates in Devon since 1993 and were well known for the excellent quality of their products and customer service.

The company is understood to have employed 21 people and was a member of both the Guild of Fine Food and Taste of the West.