Residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of forming a parish council for Haworth, Stanbury and Cross Roads.

Ballot results announced yesterday afternoon show 2,415 people in favour and just 186 against. Voting papers and explanatory leaflets were sent out last month to all the 5,500-plus residents in the area eligible to take part. Forty-five per cent responded.

A detailed presentation and implications of the results will be given at a neighbourhood forum meeting at Haworth First School, Butt Lane, on Tuesday which starts at 7pm.

The results will be discussed by Bradford council's community development committee on Wednesday, January 20, and its views will then be forwarded to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who in his role as Environment Secretary will have the final say.

Cllr Ralph Berry, chairman of the community development committee, says: "The council consulted with every resident in the area.

"I welcome the large number of people who voted in the ballot. There's clearly a very high degree of support for establishing a parish council."

Cllr Irene Ellison-Wood, chairman of Keighley Area Panel, the local arm of Bradford council, says: "This is another building block in the democratic process. It should lead to more people being involved in issues of interest and concern."

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