Efforts to retain Haworth as a top tourist attraction for coach parties have been launched.

Traders and Bradford council have begun the campaign following a huge drop in the number of day-trippers to the village.

It is claimed that coaches have been giving Haworth a wide berth ever since a car park company was fined £500 for allowing pollution from coach exhaust fumes.

Ted Evans, who owns the company Worthside House Development which was fined, has limited the number of coaches parking using his two car parks in Changegate and Rawdon Road to six between them at any one time. It is alleged that he has told coach operators they are no longer welcome in the village which attracts millions of visitors each year and was the home of the famous literary Bronte family.

After Mr Evans imposed his restrictions, Bradford council re-opened its Bronte Village car park to coaches, which were previously barred, but the numbers have still not increased. Now the council is writing to coach companies explaining to them that parking is available free at its Bronte Village car park.

But, as Bradford council and traders launch the campaign, Mr Evans says: "It is totally and utterly unfair to blame me for the situation. I have not said anything to coach companies to prevent them coming to the village. I explained my situation and pointed out the council car park was open.

"The fact is that numbers are dwindling because there is not enough to do or see in Haworth. If the traders tidied up the village, opened up on time and stayed open later they might get more visitors. "

Traders, keen to encourage coach visits, put out their own unofficial signs last weekend directing coaches to the council-owned car park off Sun Street. They retaliated after Mr Evans put up signs at his Changegate car park blaming Bradford council, which prosecuted his company, for the end to coach parking there.

Members of Haworth Traders Association - which was not responsible for putting up the unofficial signs - has agreed to play its part in making the Bronte Village car park more attractive to visitors.

Shopkeepers have volunteered to cut back nettles and other weeds alongside the public footpath which takes visitors from the car park to the parish churchyard. They are also campaigning for better lighting.

Joint secretary Geraldine Robertson-Brown says shopkeepers and cafe owners want coaches to continue to visit Haworth. She says people are trying to help visitors in the best way possible by letting them know council parking facilities are available. "We welcome visitors. We want to keep Haworth alive and thriving," she says.

Mrs Robertson-Brown says she fully supports the council action to stop pollution. But she says: "We need to help coach drivers and visitors. Unless we do we will lose them."

Worth Valley councillor Mike Young, who is leading the new Vision for Haworth group, says that apart from sending letters to coach companies the council has had staff on duty for the last three weekends directing coaches to the Bronte car park. Temporary signs have gone up and permanent ones for Bridgehouse Lane, Sun Street and Station Road are on order.

"There has been quite a notable drop in coaches visiting Haworth," he says. "Whether that reflects the economic climate or the poor weather I don't know."

Mr Evans adds: "The irony is that since the Court case my car parking business has gone up by 30 per cent. The more coaches that go on the council car park the better. It means more cars come to park on my sites."

The court hearing followed long-running complaints from residents.

The council says it did not want to prevent coaches parking but to ensure that air pollution did not rise to unacceptable levels.

Court action was taken following a breach of an abatement notice aimed at forcing coach drivers to stop the practice of leaving their engines running.

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