A successful Morrisons bid for rival supermarket giant Safeway could create a 1,000 new jobs in Bradford, it emerged today.

If the deal goes through, the giant company would have a new head office in the city which is likely to house 1,500 staff.

Some of those will be Safeway employees who will move from its Middlesex head office, which will close, but it is thought a high percentage of jobs would have to be filled locally as many staff would be reluctant to head north.

The new head office - to be built in Gain Lane, Thornbury - would be almost double the size of Morrisons' existing HQ in Thornton Road.

The Telegraph & Argus also understands that the jobs boom is likely to extend to the large Farmer's Boy production site in Cemetery Road, Bradford, where about 800 staff are employed. That site is likely become a 24-hour operation which could see staff numbers almost double.

Morrisons also owns a further site at Dudley Hill, but that is already running close to capacity and so is unlikely to benefit from any deal.

The expansion depends on a successful outcome to the protracted takeover saga which has been the talk of the City since Sir Ken Morrison's audacious £2.9 billion offer for Safeway in January.

The Bradford company was unexpectedly referred to the Competition Commission along with rival stores Sainsbury, Asda and Tesco because of fears that one firm could become too powerful.

Morrisons is widely tipped to secure Safeway after being given the green light to pursue its interest by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, while the others were all blocked.

The company was yesterday given 21 days to table a fresh bid before Christmas after Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda accepted terms put in place by the Office of Fair Trading on the disposal of the 53 stores that Morrisons would be required to sell.

But the deal will all depend on the value placed on Safeway - which has seen its performance struggle during the takeover speculation - by the respective boards. Morrisons has always stated it does not intend paying over the odds for Safeway and could decide its interests are best served by pursuing the gradual growth strategy which has seen it become the UK's fifth biggest supermarket.

If the Safeway move fails to go ahead, Morrisons has insisted it will push ahead with plans for the new headquarters on a smaller scale with a completion date of 2005.

News of the possible jobs boom was welcomed by Sandy Needham, chief executive of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, who paid tribute to Morrisons' loyalty to Bradford. She said the chamber had battled to keep the Gain Lane site earmarked for commercial use and revealed Morrisons had considered options outside Bradford before deciding to commit to the city.