Addingham Parish Council has been warned it could be disbanded and its functions taken over by a neighbourhood forum unless it is prepared to take on more responsibility.

The warning was made by Craven District Councillor David Emmott (Tory) following Bradford Council's move in principle for a radical restructure.

The new administration at City Hall will have a 16-member executive with full powers to take key decisions. As part of the plans, area panels, which incorporate local neighbourhood forums, will be expanded and given a more powerful role. Once the final restructuring plans have been before the full council in December, the interim changes will begin to operate.

Coun Emmott told Addingham Parish Council that here was an opportunity for the body to take on more responsibility. This could mean taking charge of local services such as grass cutting and bin emptying as well as administering the budgets.

Coun Emmott said: "They are going to give you a lot of power if you require it. It will go on step by step as much or as little as you want. You will have the money to spend."

But he warned that if members did not want to accept more responsibility they could face the demise of the Parish Council with its functions being taken over by a neighbourhood forum. He added: "All the parish councils could go. Labour said if they wanted to get rid of parish councils, they could to it."

Parish Council chairman Alan Jerome said taking extra responsibility for local services would be a full-time job for one person at least. "If they want parish councils to take on more responsibility, that is not a problem provided we have the people who have the time to do it and if they make it financially viable to do it."

Parish Councillor Danny Palmer said: "You would need a full-time chief executive."

Coun Emmott urged parish councillors to take a direct interest in decisions made at City Hall. "It might be a good idea if someone went to Council meetings and listened to what was going on," he said.

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