An established tourism group representing Keighley and Haworth has decided to remain united.

Keighley and Haworth Tourism Management Group has decided to carry on as a single body rather than split into two groups dealing with Keighley and Haworth separately.

The announcement was made in response to recommendations made at a previous meeting by Bradford council leisure chief Cllr Barry Thorne, who suggested the group divide into two.

At this week's meeting, members of the group voiced unanimous support for chairman Jackie Cope, who argued in favour of keeping the group together. She said: "I think we have done positive things together and we are now cooperating a lot more than in the old days. I personally think we should stay as a group and perhaps shift our emphasis back slightly to the tourist element and look to the variety of sub-groups we have already.

"We now have much stronger links with Bradford leisure services and my feeling is that we should keep the membership in a solid group, because that means funds. I think we should look at this as being the way forward."

She also suggested the group meet twice a year with additional meetings to be added when and if necessary. Recruiting new members was also deemed to be a priority.

Keighley Bus Museum Director Graham Mitchell stressed that the group should meet at least quarterly, which was accepted by fellow members.

He added: "It is a unique group and is one of the few forums where the voluntary and private sectors all come together. It would be a terrible shame to lose this unique group and I would strongly support keeping the whole thing."

Secretary of Haworth Traders David Robertson Brown said he hoped the proposed Haworth parish council would deal with the matters outside tourism which had previously sidetracked the group. He said: "We have been without a parish council for so long so we have been bringing these issues to this group to sort out. I think that since the group started a lot of organisations have come together successfully and I believe it would be a negative step to split into different groups at this point."

Mary Ward, from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, said: "The railway links the whole area this group covers and I think it would undermine this group if we split up.

"By cooperating with each other we have made great strides and I feel the knowledge we have of each other's attractions is a great strength."

It was also agreed the group should continue to improve links with Bradford council and other tourism bodies.

Opinion, page 10

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