THe countdown has begun for villagers in for urley-in-Wharfedale to decide if they want their own parish council.

A Burley Community Council (BCC) organised petition calling for such a body, which received the backing of 37 per cent of the community, has just been handed in to Bradford Council.

BCC chairman Bruce Speed is now drafting the short speech with which he will formally present the petition, and the argument for a new parish council, to the authority at its next full meeting next Tuesday.

Mr Speed expects a formal vote on the issue to take place shortly afterwards, as he explained.

"A postal ballot has to be held within three months of us presenting the petition, and will probably be held at the end of November.

"The actual handing-in process has taken place, we went in to Bradford last week and gave them a box-full of petitions.

"In order for it to progress between two and five of us have to go to the full council meeting and speak for no more than five minutes. I have drafted something which is being passed around my colleagues for comments but which will be quite brief.

"The gist of it will be explaining the background of BCC, giving our reasons for putting forward the petition and asking for it to be supported."

If the ballot shows enough support for Burley's own body of local government, the village will then embark on a lengthy process which could end, government approval pending, with it breaking away from Ilkley Parish Council.

Meanwhile, BCC is also exploring the question of Neighbourhood Manage-ment, a concept being floated by Bradford Council which could see the running of certain services handed over to local community groups.

The authority will decide which criteria to use for 'devolving' power over services like street cleaning and the upkeep of public halls at a meeting on November 12. Mr Speed said: "This is an ongoing thing we've been interested in since it was first put forward.

"We are looking into the sort of things it might be possible for the village to manage on behalf of the community and have been asked by Bradford to let them know before the meeting."

A BCC sub-group is also examining the feasibility of setting up a charitable trust for Burley which could attract more funding for community projects in the area.