THE chairman of a group formed to revive the closed fire station in Haworth has called on people to support its efforts.

Steve Thorpe was speaking in the wake of the latest meeting of the Friends of Haworth and Worth Valley Fire Station.

He said he and his colleagues were applying for an £8,000 grant from Awards for All, and estimate that it would cost about £14,000 to keep the building open for a year.

He added that the group was looking into setting up a system which would allow everyone to donate towards this cause online.

"We had roughly 30 people at our last meeting, but the people of the Worth Valley are going to have to decide if they really want these services," he said.

"Now is the time to get behind it, because once these services are gone they are gone forever.

"Even if every household in the Worth Valley gave £1 that would easily be enough for us to get the fire station open again.

"If it doesn't get turned into a community centre it'll probably be sold and turned into a cafe and a car park.

"We don't just want things for tourists in Haworth, we need proper services for the local community."

Mr Thorpe, of Prince Street, Haworth, said he felt that £14,000 to run the building for a year was an "achievable" sum.

Speaking after he was elected chairman of the friends' group meeting, Mr Thorpe said it had also agreed a constitution.

"Everything is up and running and we've had our committee voted in, but we're still looking for a secretary and treasurer," he said.

"These wouldn't be massively time-consuming roles, we're just looking for someone who can spare one or two hours a week.

"We have a really good committee already, which includes people with lots of different skills.

"We are going to introduce some form of membership scheme in which people will give money in return for joining the friends, and we may launch a way in which people can donate online.

"For example, we would like local schools and businesses to get involved with holding fundraising events."

He said it was important to act quickly before the property – which is still owned by West Yorkshire Fire Service – is sold and converted into some other use.

The building ceased operating as a fire station on December 31 last year falling victim to a major cost-cutting programme.

Proposals have been put forward by the fire authority to use the building as community hub.