A REFERENDUM on how a village in the Bradford District will develop in the coming years will be held in May.

Over the past several years, Oxenhope residents have worked with local Councillors and officers at Bradford Council to develop a local plan for the village.

Once adopted, the plan will set out how Oxenhope will develop in the future.

It will detail areas where development should be encouraged, as well as setting out areas of the village that are off limits.

It also will allocate areas that should remain "local green space."

At a meeting of Bradford Council's Executive next Tuesday, members will see a draft of the plan, and hear that it will go to a public referendum in the May elections.

It will come a decade after the decision to draw up a neighbourhood plan was first made.

The plan details the history of Oxenhope, from its early days as an agricultural settlement to a small industrial community.

The village is currently home to about 2,600 people, and while it retains a number of pubs, it has just two shops, a Cooperative and a pharmacy.

Oxenhope is the terminus of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway - one of Bradford's most popular heritage attractions, and hosts the popular Straw Race each Summer.

The plan says: "The number of retired people in Oxenhope is growing, while younger people tend to relocate to find education, employment and affordable accommodation."

It says there are 44 listed buildings or structures in the village, and adds: "The Neighbourhood Plan seeks to protect heritage assets and ensure that new development within the village is sensitive to these assets."

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “An incredible amount of work has been put into the Oxenhope local plan and I’d like to congratulate the local town councillors, residents and officers for their efforts.

“The local plan sets out an ambitious vision for the area to ensure it thrives whilst preserving the things local people value.

“We look forward to seeing how people respond to it in the local referendum.”

The Bradford District Local Plan, a separate document which is currently in its draft stage and yet to be adopted, has allocated at least 40 new homes to the be built in Oxenhope by 2038.

Possible locations for these new homes have been suggested as being land off Crossfield Road and land off Cross Lane.