Residents in Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury are being urged to take an active role in the formation of the village's new parish council.

Keighley Area Panel coordinator Patrick Lawton says now the parish council has been given the go-ahead by the government, it is important that local people support it. He is inviting interested parties to join him for a discussion about the new parish council in Keighley Town Hall's council chamber on Tuesday, Novem-ber 2, at 5pm.

Chairman of Keighley Area Panel Cllr Irene Ellison Wood adds: "Local people have been very successful in campaigning for a parish council. I continue to support this initiative and hope that many people stand for election."

David McKay, one of the original driving forces behind the bid, believes there will be no shortage of candidates looking to be elected onto the new council. He says: "There will be no problem filling the seats. If anything there is a feeling of impatience because people are waiting for it to happen."

The parish council should be formed in April 2000. The next stage will involve the submitting of a report to Bradford council's Community Develop-ment Committee on November 20, which will meet at a Keighley venue to be decided.

The report will outline the various proposals and arrangements regarding the installation of the new parish council.

Mr Lawton adds: "The meeting will outline the main proposals considerations."

Anyone interested in joining the discussion on November 2 should contact Mr Lawton on 01535 618008.

such as should the parish be divided into wards and the number of councillors to be elected for the parish.

"There will also be discussions about the interim period between April 1 and the local district elections on May 4.

"District councillors will be appointed in the interim period who will be responsible for the parish council until the elections take place."

Although no firm decisions have been made yet, it is anticipated that the parish council will be split into the three wards of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury.

It is also likely that the number of councillors from each ward will be determined by the number of electors in those wards.

That would mean Haworth having the largest number of councillors, with a reduced number representing Cross Roads and a smaller figure for Stanbury.

Parish councils by their nature have limited powers, with their main function being to represent the views of local people and then relate them to the necessary bodies including the local council

However, chairman of Bradford council's Community Development Committee, Councillor Ralph Berry, indicated at this week's full council meeting that parish councils could have greater powers in the future.

He said: "The district council supports parish councils which work with us and their communities in an open and participative manner.

"There will be opportunities in the future for parish councils to take on existing unused powers and deliver local services if that is what their local communities want."

Anyone interested in joining the discussion on November 2 should contact Patrick Lawton on 01535618008.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.