A council in a picturesque corner of the district is hoping to help set up a new facility where people can easily access local archives.

Oxenhope Parish Council is investigating potential funding for the project.

Many of the records – including books, parish maps and other documents – are currently looked after by parish councillor Reg Hindley.

He has been collecting the items since he first moved to the area in 1964.

But he would like much of this material to be kept instead somewhere where the public can view it.

He said he was reluctant to see the collection being housed somewhere in Haworth, because of the risk of it being neglected in comparison with Bronte-related items. He and Coun Tony Jones also noted that it would need to be stored in the right environment, so it isn’t damaged by damp or other harmful conditions.

Coun Penny Cusdin said she was looking into possible opportunities afforded by an initiative called the Sharing Heritage Fund, but would need a clearer idea of what Coun Hindley’s archive collection is comprised of.

She and council chairman Coun Neal Cameron have suggested the village primary school as a possible location for a secure but publicly accessible archive.

Coun Cameron said the volume of material could be reduced if some of it is digitised. He recommended Coun David Ashcroft get in touch with the school to find out whether it may be interested in hosting a small, local archive.