A blueprint detailing how an historic village should develop could be used as a model for planning other communities in the future.

The Oxenhope Village Design Statement, which took 18 months to put together, is set to be endorsed by Keighley's town and country planning sub-committee.

Peter Barrans, who helped compile the statement, said: "This is ideally how we would like to see the village develop.

"It was hard work and has taken longer than we anticipated, but it has been extremely worthwhile.''

Bradford planners are recommending that as a result of the statement an additional conservation area should be established, centred on Oxenhope Station - the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway terminus.

And they want a planning brief drawn up for the controversial Leeming field site, which lies between Oxenhope and the hamlet of Leeming.

Its designation for housing in the Bradford unitary development plan sparked widespread opposition. Villagers want the area to remain open.

A Council spokesman said: "We are recommending that the village design statement be supported as a model for planning communities in the future and that other communities be encouraged to consider the initiative as a means of progressing future community planning.''

The 22-page village design statement makes suggestions on the development of tourism and leisure, on the use of building materials, on conversions and gives examples of preferred styles of new properties.

It uses photographs to highlight the character of the landscape and the built environment and details of every Listed building.

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