A COMPANY has been accused of “failing to explore” alternatives to closing a Wealdstone art factory.

Almost 200 employees of the ColArt owned Windsor & Newton site, in Whitefriars Avenue, could face redundancy as the company prepares to move manufacturing to Le Mans, in France.

Councillor Bill Stephenson led a Harrow Council drive over several months to change the company's mind about closing the factory, which provides supplies to Prince Charles' household.

He said: “I am bitterly disappointed by this decision as must be ColArt employees, and I am dismayed that the ColArt bosses have failed to explore all avenues for preserving manufacturing in Wealdstone.

“I wrote to Colart's chief executive and outlined the council's desire to sit down and discuss with him any issues Colart had with the Wealdstone site, in particularly, the possibility of introducing further shifts using the Wealdstone site.

“However, so far I have had no response to my letter. It is not clear what Colart's issues are with their present location.”

ColArt says the factory is in too residential an area to allow it to expand but the council says it has not received any requests from the company to increase productivity through extended operating hours.

Nor have there been any complaints from residents in the area.

The factory has a rich history dating back to before World War Two and Windsor & Newton was given a royal warrant by Queen Victoria in 1841.

The Whitefriars Avenue site was opened in 1937 but will be closed by the end of 2011.

Cllr Stephenson said: “I can only now urge the company to give the most serious consideration to locating its Head Office functions and museum in Wealdstone or on the nearby Kodak site to preserve the long tradition of Winsor & Newton in Wealdstone.

“I further urge that ColArt give the fullest support to those workers threatened by redundancy.

“The Council has worked with Stanmore College, Harrow CAB, West London Business and others to develop a package of support for staff, and we trust ColArt will give an assurance that it will take up these opportunities in helping their employees find new jobs.

“Finally, we want Colart to maintain employment in Harrow and we urge them to discuss with the Council about ways we can achieve this.”

Neil Robson, managing director of ColArt, said: “It is with much regret that we have had to make this decision, but with the global fine art market becoming ever more competitive over the last few years, it is essential we combine colour manufacturing operations to improve the efficiency of our business and ensure its long-term sustainability. “Sadly, Wealdstone’s physical location in the heart of a residential area means it cannot absorb the additional capacity required and it has been decided that no other options explored during the consultation process are sustainable.”