THE entire village of Hebden looks set to become a conservation area six years after residents first mooted the idea.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is likely to rubber stamp the conservation order when it meets on Tuesday, giving the authority even greater powers to control development in the village.

Officers consider Hebden is special for its architectural and historical interest and that its character and appearance is worthy of a conservation order.

The idea was first raised in 1999, but was put back following the foot and mouth crisis and then the loss of the national park's building conservation officer. But earlier this year the proposal was back on the agenda.

An appraisal of Hebden states that the village is likely to have been settled by Danes, although a village may have been there in Anglo-Saxon times and was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Lead mining became a major industrial activity, but the formation of the Hebden Moor Mining Company had a significant impact on the village. Although extraction lasted only 17 years, and while only a few new houses were built, many of the older buildings were adapted and extended in this period. The village also had a textile industry, production starting from a cotton mill in 1791 and continuing until 1870 when water powered mills succumbed to steam powered looms.

The report states that Hebden has eight buildings of national importance (7 Brook Street, the Green House, Chestnut House, Saxelby House, St Peter's Church, a barn at Town Hill Back Lane, a garden in the Saxelby House grounds and the old bridge).

The report concludes: "The special character of Hebden is defined by a historic settlement pattern of great significance, together with a collection of important listed buildings and a group of unlisted buildings which, although essentially vernacular and humble in architectural terms, combine well to create a harmonious and generally high quality environment of buildings, open spaces and tree cover.

"In addition the setting is very distinctive with the natural topography of surrounding hills and adjacent steep sided valley combining with a man-made agricultural landscape of some age and significance in its own right."