Families from a private housing estate are believed to be the first in the district to launch their own website.

Apperley Bridge Development Residents' Association (ABDRA) wants to keep in touch with its members and promote the area.

The pioneering move by the association follows a long battle to get the Tenterfields development finished, after one of the developers went into receivership.

The residents had to campaign for a flood relief scheme, after sewage flowed from a stream which had been a main selling point for the 300-home estate.

The families, who were also left without street lighting and landscaping, said Bradford Council should have used enforcement procedures to get the work done.

Last July, Local Government Ombudsman Patricia Thomas found the Council guilty of maladministration in three instances for failing to implement planning controls.

Now the work is being completed but ABDRA says it will continue campaigning for the area.

The site is designed, hosted and sponsored by the Bradford Internet company, WebFirst.

The group now intends to use the site as a way of improving the image of the area and raising funds.

It is offering free web space to people offering non-profit-making community services and says it will become a noticeboard and information site.

Association secretary Joan Brown said: "We're delighted with the response of WebFirst. We live in a really nice area down here and it gives us a chance to sell Apperley Bridge and its rural benefits."

Frances Aadahl of WebFirst said: "We are delighted to help ABDRA. The Internet is an ideal way for communities to share information amongst themselves and the global community at large. While the worldwide web is still a mystery to many, soon it will be the de facto medium for information sharing."

The site can be found at www.abdra.org.uk

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