A pioneering planning and design document - the first of its kind in the county - has been officially accepted by Bradford Council.

And every home in the historic village of Oxenhope will receive a copy of the Oxenhope Design Statement in the next few days following the publication of 1,000 copies.

The Countryside Commission, which financed the two-year project, will get 130 copies while Bradford Council planners are to receive 300.

Peter Barrans, who chaired the 16-strong design statement committee, said: "It has been a time-consuming and difficult process because we were delving into uncharted waters.

"It has taken two years exactly to develop which I think was a realistic time and I believe we have a good document."

The document, which details how the village should develop in the future, can be used by other communities as a model for how they would like to see their areas develop.

Mr Barrans added: "It's taken exactly two years to produce from the time we held a public meeting in the village which attracted 500 people. The project was very well received.''

Bradford Council is now aiming to issue special planning notes to go with the document to give guidance to potential developers.

The 26-page design statement contains a history of the community and makes suggestions on the use of buildings materials; on conversions; and it gives examples of preferred styles of new properties and refers to the development of tourism and leisure.

It uses photographs and drawings to highlight the character of the landscape and the built-up environment and details every listed building and proposed village green space.

Oxenhope Councillor John Cope (Lab/Worth valley), chairman of Keighley area town and country planning sub-committee, described the document as "splendid".

"This marks the culmination of two years work and defines the character of the village. It will act as a guide for planning applications for years to come and will become a model for other communities to follow," he said.

He said he hoped that it would be an invaluable historical record to be used by future generations.

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