A policeman who grew up in Steeton has been honoured for his part in policing last year’s riots in London.

PC Marc Gledhill received an assistant commissioners’ commendation for leadership, bravery, professionalism and dedication to duty.

He spent five days on the “frontline” during riots in the capital and at one time was trapped with fellow officers in an alleyway.

PC Gledhill, 31, has served with the Metropolitan Police for nine years and currently works in the Camden area.

His parents Janet and David, who live in Steeton, attended the awards ceremony in London.

Mrs Gledhill said her son, who attended South Craven School in Cross Hills, had always wanted to be a police officer.

After leaving school he worked at greetings card company Hallmark before securing a place at the Hendon police training college.

Mrs Gledhill said her son enjoyed his role as a police constable.

She said: “He loves being hands-on. He doesn't want to be stuck behind a desk.”

She added that during the awards ceremony a film was screened showing footage from the riots and the audience was told some rioters had intended to kill police officers.

She said: “Marc didn’t get home for five days. They grabbed sleep where they could, then were straight back out.

“Marc and three others were trapped in a dead-end street in Camden with fires raging all around and the public stuck in flats above, fighting off the rioters for five hours to protect the people. He's a really caring young man.”

Marc is captain of the Met police’s hockey team and lives in Wimbledon.

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Campaigners have failed in their latest bid to stop 220 new homes being built at Steeton.

An attempt to have the site off Thornhill Road classed as a village green was rejected by members of Bradford Council’s miscellaneous licences panel.

They had been asked to make a final decision on a report by independent inspector David Manley QC, who had examined the application. He said the bid should be turned down and the five panel members, meeting last Thursday, went along with his report.

Councillor Andrew Mallinson, speaking as a member of the public and not as a member of the panel, had said the inspector’s recommendation should be overturned.

“The panel needs to understand where this locality is and the importance of that area,” he said.

In order for village green status to be granted, an applicant has to prove a site has been used by residents for at least two decades for recreation, sports and games.

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A choir was reunited with fellow member Gordon Sugden when it performed for him and other patients in an emotional Sheffield spinal unit concert.

More than 30 members of Steeton Male Voice Choir were bussed to Sheffield last Thursday to sing for patients in the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Unit, at the Northern General Hospital.

Mr Sugden, 82, from Ilkley, was involved in a car accident in London last Christmas, which left him paralysed from the neck down.

He was more recently transferred to the Sheffield hospital, which specialises in treating spinal cord injuries and is the second-largest such unit in the UK.

The choir recently held a fundraising concert in Skipton to help the hospital buy specialist equipment for patients. It presented the £1,000 raised to Sheffield Hospitals Charity during the performance.

The choir presented a range of songs, including one of Mr Sugden’s favourite pieces, entitled Comrades in Arms. And Mr Sugden even managed to sing along with the choir.

Patients in beds and wheelchairs were brought into a communal area of the hospital to listen to the performance.

The choir’s recruiting officer, Eric Parker, said: “We are all close friends in the choir and can only imagine the anguish Gordon has experienced.

“We wanted to show our support and to bring a smile to his face during such a difficult time in his life.”

Mr Parker added Mr Sugden had a smile on his face all the time.

A hospital spokeswoman said the choir’s performance kept the audience captivated.

She added: “This provided a welcome distraction from daily routines, as on average patients with a spinal cord injury spend at least three months on the unit to aid recovery and to prepare them for their return home.”

Members of Mr Sugden’s family were also there for the performance.

His wife, Margaret, visits him every day, his son makes the journey north to be with his father several days a week and his daughter flies in from Venice to be at his bedside every weekend.

Call (0114) 2711351 or visit sheffieldhospitalscharity.org.uk to donate towards the hospital’s work.

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A new £200,000 community centre has come under fire for its appearance.

One councillor has criticised the building, at Steeton, saying it looks like a “green shed”.

But parish council chairman David Mullen said the community hub looked exactly as it should. He said villagers were consulted on the plans for exterior walls and cladding and then they were approved by Bradford Council planners.

Bradford councillor Andrew Mallinson, who represents Craven ward, said some residents had expressed concerns about the hall’s appearance.

The hall, funded from a variety of sources, is intended to replace the current bowling pavilion and provide space for several other local groups. The new building will offer twice as much usable space as before, along with a foyer, toilets and snack-making area.

Building work began in mid-summer, with the framework and walls quickly taking shape. Two of the walls are timber with windows, but the roof and the two other walls – including one facing Skipton Road – have metal surfaces.

Coun Mallinson said there were “definite concerns” amongst Steeton people about the appearance.

He said: “If that’s the finished article then it doesn't look in keeping with the rest of the building. Villagers have been in touch about it. I share the concerns of other people.”

Coun Mullen said the parish council had widely consulted about its proposals for the community hub, including its look and size, and had run drop-in sessions for residents.

The council sent samples of the potential exterior colours to Bradford Council, and planners had agreed to grey. He said: “We have not deviated from the permission we got. It’s all been in the plans since day one. Nothing’s been done in secret. If people are now coming and complaining, where were they three or four years ago when we asked everyone?”

Coun Mullen understood some residents of Stone Grove feared they would be overlooked by the hall, but said only gable ends faced the building.

Coun Mullen said builders were due to hand over the building on Friday, November 16, and an opening ceremony would be held before the end of the year. The old pavilion is due to be demolished on Monday, November 19.

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Campaigners fighting to save village fields from development in a David and Goliath battle have been dealt a major setback – and cannot afford to fight back, according to a leading lawyer.

A bid by people living in Steeton to have fields off Thornhill Road designated as a village green looks almost certainly to be rejected, leaving the door open for 220 homes to be built there.

The latest blow was delivered by independent inspector David Manley QC, who has recommended that Bradford Council throw out the campaigners’ bid without a public inquiry after an objection against it by developer Redrow Homes.

Councillors are expected to ratify Mr Manley’s decision at a meeting today (Thursday) leaving campaigners with few options in their battle to save the fields.

And leading property litgator Matthew Pugh, who represents the campaigners on a pro bono basis along with barrister Anna Stubley, says the battle has now swung in the developer’s favour.

If the village green application had been approved, it would have meant Redrow would have been unable to build there, despite having planning permission.

But Mr Pugh said Mr Manley struck out the argument that a significant number of the residents of the parish of Steeton with Eastburn were making use of the fields, despite 120 witnesses supporting the application made by long-time campaigners Shona Cole and Joanne Stokes. “This is a developing and subjective area of the law, which despite attempts by the Government to water down statutory rights still offers a real opportunity for communities to save public spaces from development,” said Mr Pugh, of Langleys Solicitors.

“The residents would dearly like to appeal against this decision. Unfortunately, the applicants cannot take the risk of being ordered to pay the developer’s costs and there is no funding available.

“The Government is proposing to change the law to make it harder to register village greens.”

The grounds of the residents’ case was built around the fact they had been using three fields off Thornhill Road as a public space for sport and recreation for many years, but a report to be presented to the council’s miscellaneous licences panel, which meets at Bradford City Hall at 10.30am today, says the evidence was not strong enough.

Mrs Stokes, who has been leading the campaign to fight the homes plans, said opponents will need to regroup and decide what to do next.

““We are a bit sad about it all,” she said. “We got so far and had quite a good case.”

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A councillor who failed to win reselection to defend his ward seat was the victim of a “smear campaign”, a Conservative Party inquiry has concluded.

A leaked report reveals a panel of three senior Tories ruled there was a deliberate attempt to discredit former Bradford Council executive member, Coun Adrian Naylor, which formed the backdrop to a candidate selection meeting last November.

It stated: “We have little hesitation in concluding that there was clearly a smear campaign about Councillor Naylor.”

The inquiry heard about a “whispering campaign against Coun Naylor, which, in short, was based around alleged inappropriate conduct towards council officials”.

The panel said it was “shown absolutely no reliable evidence of any wrongdoing by Councillor Naylor”, despite hearing of many concerns, issues and allegations.

All witnesses called had denied involvement in the smear campaign and the inquiry did not seek to point the finger of blame.

According to the report, however, the panel ruled fellow ward councillor Andrew Mallinson, and Bradford Council Conservative group leader Glen Miller should not have been involved in determining Coun Naylor’s re-selection for the Craven ward, which covers Silsden, Steeton, Eastburn and Addingham.

“The histories between the individuals were such that they could not be said to be impartial,” the report stated.

Former Tory member Coun Naylor went on to retain his seat in May’s elections as an independent candidate, defeating Andrew Rowley.

The hearing called on senior local Conservatives, including Coun Miller, MP Kris Hopkins and Keighley and Ilkley Conservative Association chairman, Dorothy Clamp, to “bring people together and not create factions”.

Panel members heard Coun Miller’s reason for not re-selecting Coun Naylor was due to his allegedly “shoddy attire and attitude” at a selection meeting last November.

Coun Miller also told the panel he believed Coun Naylor refused to work with his ward colleagues.

Coun Naylor: “I welcome the report and its findings, which exonerate me.”

Coun Miller declined to comment and Coun Malli-nson said he never instigated any slur campaign against Coun Naylor and stuck to purely election campaigning in the run-up to the polls.

Mrs Clamp said the Association had followed procedures as far as possible in the selection process.

Mr Hopkins, who spoke out against a “shameful” smear campaign against Coun Naylor, said he intended to play the “fullest part possible” in resolving the issues the association needed to address.

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Two young children had to be rescued by firefighters last night when they became trapped in their home.

The youngsters - aged one and three - closed and inadvertently locked the front door after their parents had stepped outside.

The fire crew broke a lock to gain entry to the property, in Stone Grove, Steeton.

The children were distressed but unhurt.

One appliance from Keighley fire station was called out, at 7pm.

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A coffee morning is being held at Steeton on Saturday to raise funds for the Martin House children’s hospice.

The event is the latest in a series staged by villager Lynda Corser and her family and friends. Proceeds go to Martin House, at Boston Spa, in memory of Mrs Corser’s late nephew, Andrew Pratt, who died there in 1998 at the age of 12.

Saturday’s coffee morning will take place in St Stephen's Church Hall from 10am to noon and will include stalls, a raffle and tombola.

There will also be hand-crafted cards by Lesley Jackson and Mrs Corser’s daughter Fiona will have a stall selling Martin House items, including Christmas cards.

“We’ve been doing two coffee mornings a year now for about the last eight years and they’ve grown and grown,” said Mrs Corser.

“It all started with just a few friends and raised about £40 – now we are raising around £600-700 each time.”

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A 20-year-old Steeton man has been locked up for 12 months after leading the police on a dangerous car chase round Skipton town centre on a Saturday afternoon.

Jamie Halford, a labourer, of Station Road, hit a parked car, forced a pedestrian to jump clear on a crossing and pinned a retired woman against a bridge wall as he sped around the centre of town in a red Toyota he should not have been driving.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop and having no driving licence or insurance.

Prosecutor Camille Morland told Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday that Halford was spotted illegally at the wheel on Carleton Road by the police on March 3.

He skidded at junctions, jumped a red light and drove across a traffic island while speeding along Sackville Street, Craven Street and Keighley Road with the car stereo on full blast.

He and his passenger leapt out of the car on Carleton Road and it rolled on to the pavement, pinning a retired woman pedestrian against the wall of a bridge.

Miss Morland said the woman feared for her life when she saw the car coming at her. Halford fled but was arrested the next day.

He was in breach of a crown court community order for a drugs offence committed in Gargrave Road, Skipton, in August last year.

In mitigation, the court was told that Halford was in full-time work.

He panicked when he saw the police and recalled little of the pursuit.

He did not mean to get so close to the woman he pinned to the wall.

Judge Christopher Batty said: “He was probably three sheets to the wind which is why he cannot remember, and why he was driving so badly.”

He told Halford he could have seriously injured, or killed, the woman.

Halford was sentenced to nine months in a young offender institution for dangerous driving and an extra three months for breaching the crown court community order.

He was banned from driving for two years and his licence was endorsed.

He was led off in handcuffs to begin his sentence.

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A warning sign is to be installed on a dangerous stretch of road above Steeton.

Bradford Council is to fit the sign on Barrows Lane following a request from ward councillor Andrew Mallinson.

The action comes three months after a car smashed into a house on the narrow road. The Barras family had a lucky escape when the Mercedes C220 crashed into their kitchen wall.

Residents of the road, called Barrows Lane and Redcar Lane at different points, have complained for some time about the speed of traffic passing their homes.

They have called for a 20mph limit on the road at Whitley Head, a hamlet above Steeton, where the limit is currently 30mph.

Following the crash, Coun Mallinson visited the lane with council highways officers to look at potential safety measures. He said one of the problems was that drivers came from a fast stretch at the top of the hill to a narrow incline with a lower speed limit.

He said: “The road can’t be widened. Years ago we looked at that, but it would be a major engineering exercise.”

Coun Mallinson said the police were investigating how fast drivers actually travelled down the hill.

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Robin Simon, a former member of 1980s electro-pop groups Ultravox and Visage will perform at the Old Star in Steeton this Saturday.

He will appear with the electro band Persuasion, playing -songs by Ultravox, Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and others of the same era.

 Robin started his career in Halifax and during the 1970s and was with Ultravox before it achieved fame in the 1980s with frontman Midge Ure.

Robin returned to Ultravox in the late 1980s and over the past few decades has also played in other bands in the UK and USA.

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Silsden and Steeton councillors will highlight remote areas where fire safety cover needs to be improved.

The town and parish councillors will investigate locations that have not got smoke alarms.

Local firefighters have, for several years, fitted free smoke alarms to homes across the Keighley area.

Councillors believe outlying farms and houses are particularly at risk because they are further away from fire stations and sometimes hard to find.

The offer came during a meeting last week between Silsden and Steeton councillors and officials from West Yorkshire Fire Service.

The councillors wanted to pass on concerns about fire service proposals to reduce fire cover across the district due to public spending cuts.

Silsden fire station lost its second engine earlier this year and Keighley station is due to lose one of its two engines.

Silsden town councillor Adrian Naylor said the fire service had carried out a risk management assessment before making its cuts proposals.

But he feared the needs of rural communities had not been fully taken into account, particularly with regard to the number of smoke detectors.

He said councillors were concerned about the time it took fire appliances to reach buildings in outlying areas, particularly if they had to come from stations further away.

Fire chiefs say the response time for fires in Silsden is eight minutes from Silsden station, 20 seconds longer from Keighley station, 16 minutes from Bingley, and 24 minutes from Ilkley.

Coun Naylor said: “Our point was that a lot of damage can be done in that period of time and if the crew is not familiar with the area more time could be taken.”

Fire officials told councillors the Bingley fire engine had to go to the Silsden/Steeton area two or three times a year, because Keighley and Silsden engines were on other calls.

But Coun Naylor said: “We’re concerned that we’re getting to the position where we have very little spare capacity if anything happens that’s out of the ordinary.

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A grieving widow has paid tribute to a Steeton lorry driver who died after being buried beneath a mound of animal feed.

Skipton -born Malcolm Harrison, 64, was working inside a giant silo at the Port of Liverpool when the tragedy occurred.

Eyewitnesses say he was trying to open the back of his wagon when a stockpile of soyabean meal collapsed on him.

Mr Harrison, who is believed to have suffocated, was freed by colleagues and was resuscitated at the scene, but died shortly afterwards in hospital.

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The feed fell on top of the man. He has suffered extensive asphyxiation in the grain silo and gone into cardiac arrest.

“He was resuscitated and the paramedic who was first on scene travelled with him to Aintree Hospital. But he died later from his injuries.”

The Health & Safety Executive is now investigating the incident, which happened on Thursday.

This week Mr Harrison’s widow, Claudine, of Summerhill Drive, said her husband was a loving and devoted family man.

There are four children - Michelle, Matthew, Stephanie and Caroline - and seven grandchildren.

And Mr Harrison has a brother, John, and sister Mandy.

“He was such a sociable man and very well known but also modest,” said Claudine, 56, a school cook.

“We did everything together and travelled a lot - to countries including America and Australia. We shared a wonderful life.

“He loved animals and music and another of his passions was steam trains and stock cars - he worked as a fireman on a steam engine after leaving school and as a driver for a stock car team. He worked hard all his life.”

The couple had been together since 1982 and married for 26 years. They lived in Bryon Street, Skipton, until 11 years ago.

“I’m thankful for the years we have had - we’ve had great times,” said Claudine.

“I am also very thankful for all the messages of support and cards I’ve received over the past few days. People have said such wonderful things about him and it has really helped me through it.”

Mr Harrison was educated at Water Street and Aireville schools in the town. He became a lorry driver in his early 20s.

He worked for WG Taylor in Skipton but for the past 24 years had driven for Reid Atkinson, a haulage firm based in Kelbrook.

The company’s managing director Paul Schofield said: “Malcolm was a lovely man, well liked by everyone and a loyal servant to the company. We are deeply shocked by what has happened.”

A funeral service will take place at Christ Church, Skipton, next Friday, September 21, at 12.30pm, followed by cremation at Waltonwrays. Donations will be received for the Bradford-based charity Fulfil the Wish, which provides activity and sightseeing holidays for children and young people with disabilities and complex health needs.

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An architect’s impression of Steeton’s planned community building has been released by the parish council.

Work began recently on the £200,000 community hub on land next to the village’s bowling green off Skipton Road.

Steeton with Eastburn Parish Council is leading the project with money from a variety of grant bodies as well as its own funds.

The centre has been designed by South Craven architects John and Jennifer Wharton and is being constructed by Keighley builders RN Wooler and Company.

The council this week said the building would replace the existing bowling pavilion on the site.

A spokesman said: “The new facility will provide approximately twice the useable public space and the flexible accommodation will allow more than one group to use the building at any one time.

“The new building will provide a generous foyer area and the whole will be supported by a central tea/snack making facility and modern toilets.

“It will be highly energy-efficient, being insulated to a standard higher than demanded by current building regulations and the whole facility will meet modern expectations of accessibility.”

The project grew out of a parish council survey in 2007, culminating in the Parish Plan.

The spokesman said: “The construction of the hub, providing a central community facility available to all village groups and clubs, will answer more than 70 per cent of the issues raised in the plan.”

Half the funding for the project was raised by the sale of a piece of land which had been donated to the council.

The bulk of the remaining funding comes from environmental bodies WREN and Yorventure, along with grants from the South Pennines LEADER programme, Eastburn engineering company Cinetic Landis Ltd, youth activity group Youth Work, and Bradford Council.

Parish council chairman David Mullen said: “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of people. I look forward to the opening of the new building at the end of the year.”

The Keighley News last month revealed that the parish council had been forced to cut back on some of its original plans in order to ensure the building could be constructed with the available funding.

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Detectives are hunting two men they would like to speak to in connection with an assault at Leeds railway station which left a Steeton teenager with a broken jaw.

British Transport Police have released these CCTV images of the two men they want to trace in connection with the incident, which left the 18-year-old requiring surgery after he tried to intervene when his friend was punched.

The teenager had his jaw broken in two places during the incident, in which he was punched and knocked to the floor, where he struck his head on the pavement.

Police said he was waiting with a group of friends for a taxi in New Station Street, outside the station entrance, at the time of the attack in the early hours of Sunday.

Detective Constable Tom Eastwood, of British Transport Police, said: “The victim required hospital treatment. His jaw was broken in two places which required surgery.

“I would like to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or recognise the two men pictured, to contact police.”

Officers said the friends were approached by another group of men as they waited for their taxi.

One of the men then reportedly punched the victim’s friend, knocking him into the road. A British Transport Police spokesman said: “When the victim attempted to intervene, he was grabbed from behind, punched and knocked to the floor, where he struck his head on the pavement kerb.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident, which took place at 4.30am on Sunday, has been asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference B7/NEA of 20/06/2011, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Work has begun on a £200,000 community hub, which is expected to open by the end of the year.

The eco-building is being built in Steeton , on land next to the bowling green off Skipton Road. The project is being led by Steeton -with-Eastburn Parish Council and is being paid for with money from grant bodies as well as its own funds.

The centre has been designed by South Craven architects John and Jennifer Wharton and is being constructed by Keighley builders RN Wooler and Co.

Parish council chairman David Mullen said: “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of people. I look forward to the opening of the new building at the end of the year.”

The council said the building would replace the small bowling pavilion on the site, which fell “far short of modern expectations”.

Coun Mullen said: “The new facility will provide approximately twice the useable public space and the flexible accommodation will allow more than one user group to use the building at any one time.

“The new building will provide a generous foyer area and will be supported by a central tea and snack-making facility and modern toilets. The new building will be highly energy-efficient, being insulated to a standard higher than demanded by current building regulations, and the whole facility will meet modern expectations of accessibility.”

The project grew out of a parish council survey of villagers carried out in 2007, which led to community leaders drawing up a parish plan. Half the funding was raised by the sale of a piece of land donated to the council.

The council was forced to cut back some of its original plans to ensure the building could be constructed with the available funding

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Teachers who have served Steeton Primary School for a combined total of 73 years have called it a day.

Liz Roxburgh, Margaret Nutter and Anne Gallagher said they had all appreciated working at such a friendly and welcoming school.

Mrs Roxburgh, of Eldwick, who was leaving after 25 years, said she had begun her teaching career in Edinburgh.

Praising Steeton Primary’s environment, she said: “It’s a very special school with lots of special people working here, which is why so many staff stay for such a long time.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here very much indeed. They’ve been happy years, full of laughs and good memories.

“I now plan to have more time to spend with family in Edinburgh, while maintaining friendships here. I’m going to do voluntary work.”

Mrs Nutter, from Gilstead, had been at Steeton Primary for 33 years. She said: “There used to be an ethos that you needed to promote yourself by moving on to different schools and changing the kind of work you were doing.

“But I haven’t had to move anywhere because there have been so many changes here – no two years have been the same.

“It’s a lovely place to be and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. Everybody mucks in to help each other. I’ve now got to the stage where I’m teaching the children of people I first taught.”

She said her departure would allow her to focus on hobbies such as running, cycling and travel, and she will also be able to spend more time with her retired husband.

Mrs Gallagher, of Oakworth, has left the school after 15 years. She previously spent 15 years as a youth worker at Whinfield Youth Club, in Braithwaite.

She said: “It’s been fantastic and I’ve been immensely proud to say that I’ve been a part of this school.

“The whole staff work together and support each other. They’re very loving and caring and that comes out in the children. I’ll be spending more time with my husband, and I’ve got two grandchildren who I’ll be looking after.”

Steeton Primary head teacher John Cooper said: “They’ve had a huge role in the success of the school.”

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Cameras have been installed to stop vandals at the controversial site of a proposed 220-home development in Steeton.

Redrow Homes said it had placed several cameras in the fields off Thornhill Road following incidents of criminal damage.

The fields are surrounded on all sides by high fences, and fences also cover both sides of a footpath that runs through the fields.

Redrow, which gained planning permission last autumn to build houses, said vandals had damaged both the fences and the site.

But local resident Chris Bryant claimed the “sinister” appearance of the cameras, on top of poles, proved that “Big Brother is watching”.

Mr Bryant, of Parkway, said: “Quite why anyone should spend time and money keeping an eye on people on a path through a green field is a puzzle.

“There is no sign to warn the public that they’re being watched by someone in a remote location. People should be told that constant covert surveillance is in progress.”

Proposals to build a large number of houses in the fields were first put forward in 2008, and since then plans by both Skipton Properties and Redrow Homes have been opposed by villagers.

Bradford Council planners approved the latest application last September despite parish council concerns about vehicle access and sewage provision.

The villagers’ hopes now lie with an application by villagers Shona Cole and Joanne Stokes for the fields to be classed as a village green. The matter is due to go to a public inquiry.

A spokesman for Redrow Homes this week told the Keighley News: “Security cameras have been installed at our proposed development site off Thornhill Road, Steeton, following incidents of criminal damage to the land and the fences.

“It is hoped that the added security measures will help prevent further damage.”

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People are being invited to Steeton to sit around a bonfire, have a drink and talk about environmental issues.

The gathering on Saturday, from 5pm to 8pm, will be the first by Keighley’s branch of the international Green Drinks movement.

The session at Fern Cottage, Keighley Road, will be preceded by an open gardens event from 2pm.

Green Drinks brings together people who work in the environmental field or have an interest in it.

Transition Keighley, a local environmental group, is hosting the local session.

The venture is being aided by voluntary organisations support officer Shaun O’Hare as part of his work with Keighley and Ilkley Voluntary Community Action.

He said: “These events are very simple and unstructured, with many people finding employment, new friends and new ideas to develop.

“It will hopefully have a wider, positive impact in Keighley and the surrounding area.”

People can advertise their own projects. Take your own drinks and picnic; entry is free.

TThe open gardens will allow people to look around the site, which is managed by a social enterprise called Those Plant People. There will be demonstrations on budding fruit trees and making liquid plant feeds, and short guided tours.

Refreshments will be available in the forest garden, and children can make their own insect house or decorate garden canes for bean poles. Entry is free

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A long-running parking problem caused by Airedale Hospital staff and visitors will tonight be addressed by councillors.

Keighley Area Committee is being asked to approve double-yellow lines on a stretch of Thornhill Road, in Steeton.

The move is aimed at stopping people from parking on a bend, near to where a footpath emerges from the hospital grounds. Residents have complained for several years about cars parking on the road, causing access and visibility problems.

Staff and visitors regularly park near the corner, rather than paying to use one of the hospital car parks.

The double-yellow lines plan is one of four Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) recommended for approval at tonight’s meeting. The committee, part of Bradford Council, is expected to earmark £16,000 for the orders.

One proposal is to introduce a one-way system in Bracken Bank Crescent, which connects to and from Bracken Bank Grove and passes a primary school.

Council officers say the Crescent already operates as an unofficial one-way system for most users, but problems occur when vehicles are unaware of this.

Another proposal is for double-yellow lines in narrow Becks Road, at the bottom of Oakworth Road, to stop vehicles forcing heavy goods vehicles to drive on the path.

Limited waiting could also be introduced in Sun Street, Haworth, so people with mobility problems can park their vehicles in order to visit the mobility shop.

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Construction work on a new driving centre in Steeton is under way.

The Driving Standards Agency expects the centre, on the industrial estate at Steeton Grove, to be fully operational by the end of next month (August).

The centre, which will test drivers of cars and light goods vehicles (LGVs), and motorcyclists, is at a former HGV testing station.

It will replace the Keighley driving test centre, which closed in 2010 for health and safety reasons.

The DSA received planning permission for the centre last October.

A spokesman for the government agency said: “The redeveloped centre is expected to open for car and Module 2 motorcycle testing some time in August 2012.”

Bradford Council gave planning permission for the new centre despite opposition from Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council.

Parish council chairman David Mullen voiced concerns about projected vehicle movements of up to 240 a day and potential use of Steeton streets by learner drivers.

The DSA responded that the centre would have a negligible effect on the local road network, would generate additional employment and would not affect a proposed cycle route to Steeton railway station.

Bradford councillor Adrian Naylor, who represents Craven Ward, called for a review of how the local road network was being affected by both recent and future building.

He accepted that individual developments might be beneficial for the area, and not dramatically affect local roads, but taken together with other projects would cause problems.

He said: “We’re seeing a lot of development which will impact on the already busy road junctions.

“We have to look at investing in improvements to the road system in Steeton.”

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Work was due to begin this week on Steeton’s £200,000 Community Hub.

Parish council chairman David Mullen said builders would begin fencing off the area before construction work started.

He said: “They’re talking about a maximum 26 weeks’ build.”

The Community Hub will provide facilities for village groups and replace the outdated bowling pavilion on Skipton Road.

The start date was revealed despite recent concerns over the rising costs of the community centre project.

The parish council had attracted £200,000 of funding, then discovered the estimated costs would be significantly higher than anticipated.

The Community Hub steering committee has spent the past few weeks talking with architects and builders about where money could be saved.

Coun Mullen said: “We’ve managed to prune it back to come within our budget.”

Coun Mullen said the team had cut back on plans for a patio and the extent of the interior painting.Savings had also been made on the kitchen plans.

The building is being funded from a variety of sources, including £100,000 from the parish council and a total of £75,000 from environmental bodies WREN and Yorventure. Steeton Youth Group, which uses the existing bowling pavilion, is providing money and Kinetic Landis, from Eastburn, has also given funding.

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Police were on the streets of Steeton and Silsden this week after the launch of a clampdown on doorstep conmen.

No Cold Calling Zones were launched in both areas with funding from Bradford councillors who serve the wards.

The zones are around Gloucester Avenue in Silsden and Thornhill Road in Steeton, as well as Moor Park and Aynholme in Addingham.

The streets have signs that warn off salesman and bogus callers and residents are being given window stickers.

The initiative brings together police, Bradford Council, ward councillors, Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council and housing association Incommunities. Neighbourhood Policing Team officers and street wardens gathered in Steeton on Monday for a briefing, before heading out to talk to residents.

Ward councillor Adrian Naylor said the initiative showed excellent inter-agency co-operation.

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Work is set to start on a £200,000 community centre.

Builders will fence off a section of land next to Steeton Bowling Green before construction work begins on the Steeton Community Hub on Monday.

The hub will provide facilities for groups and replace the outdated bowling pavilion in Skipton Road.

The start date was revealed despite recent concerns over the rising costs of the project. The parish council had attracted £200,000 of funding, then discovered the estimated costs would be higher than anticipated.

The Community Hub steering committee has spent the past few weeks talking with architects and builders to scale down the project.

Parish Council chairman David Mullen said: “We've managed to prune it back to come within our budget.”

He said the team had cut back on plans for a patio and the extent of the interior painting. Savings had been made on the kitchen plans, although there would still be kitchen facilities.

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A Sutton woman is leaving her post as a minister in the Airedale Methodist Circuit to do mission work on a small island off the southeast coast of Africa.

The Rev Charlotte Common, who is the minister for St Andrew’s Church, Cowling, Steeton Methodist Church and Eastburn Chapel, is leaving in August to spend five months exploring her ministry in Mauritius.

Mrs Common, 62, who has worked at several Methodist churches in the Airedale Circuit, is looking forward to spending time on the multi-cultural island located 540 miles east of Madagascar.

“I’ll be exploring life and looking into setting up a sanctuary there,” said Mrs Common. “I’ll be living among a group of people who are deeply spiritual. Mauritians are dependent on God.

“There are Hindus, Christians and Muslims living together in a peaceful way, they just celebrate the creator in a different way.”

German-born Mrs Common, who has travelled and lived all over the world, will return to the UK in February 2013 but is likely to move to another Methodist circuit.

Members of her current congregations in South Craven and anyone interested in seeing Mrs Common before she leaves for Mauritius is invited to attend a farewell service at Keighley Shared Church, on Church Street, on Monday, July 16, at 7.30pm.

The service will feature performances by the Rock Up and Sing Choir, a solo by Nikki Barrett, and two local Christian bands, Big Sing and Undercover.

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Construction work on a new driving centre in Steeton is under way.

The Driving Standards Agency expects the centre, on the industrial estate at Steeton Grove, to be fully operational by the end of next month.

The centre, which will test drivers of cars and light goods vehicles (LGVs), and motorcyclists, is at a former HGV testing station.

The centre will replace the Keighley driving test centre – which closed in 2010 for health and safety reasons – and the current Skipton centre.

The DSA received planning permission for the centre last October. A spokesman for the government agency said: “The redeveloped centre is expected to open for car and Module 2 motorcycle testing some time in August 2012.”

Bradford Council gave planning permission for the new centre despite opposition from Steeton-with-Eastburn parish council.

Parish council chairman David Mullen voiced concerns about projected vehicle movements of up to 240 a day, and potential use of Steeton streets by learner drivers.

The DSA responded that the centre would have a negligible effect on the local road network, would generate additional employment, and would not affect a proposed cycle route to Steeton railway station.

Councillor Adrian Naylor called for a review of how the local road network was being affected by both recent and future building.

He accepted that individual developments might be beneficial for the area, and not dramatically affect local roads, but taken together with other projects would cause problems.

He said: “We're seeing a lot of development which will impact on the already- busy junctions. We have to look at investing in improvements to the road system in Steeton."

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A stairlift manufacturer has seen turnover increase by almost a quarter – a increase it puts down to the rising age of the population and the spending power of older consumers.

Latest figures from Steeton-based Acorn Stairlifts reveal the firm has seen sales increase by 23 per cent year-on-year as turnover rose by 22.4 per cent from 2010 to 2011.

Sales director Jules Allen, who has seen turnover treble in just five years, has said the company’s boom reflects the ageing trend and the buying power of older consumers.

He said a series of programmes on the BBC highlighted how the nation considered attitudes towards ageing.

He said: “As the BBC documentaries highlight, we often consider the nation’s attitude to our older population, but here at Acorn, despite healthy sales, we see the older generation themselves resisting the changes that ageing demands.

“Many of our customers say they wish they’d installed a stairlift sooner because of how independent they suddenly feel, but because of their own prejudices around ageing, they don’t make the decision until they have absolutely no option – or until a relative does it for them.”

Latest figures show over-65s now rank as the country’s fastest growing age group with pensioners making up one in five of the UK population.

Mr Allen said: “Worries about everything from finances to health and independence can cloud what should really be the most enjoyable time of our lives.

“When home adaptations such as stairlifts can be fitted within 24 hours – and our figures show customer purchase decisions are made within seven days – fighting the changes rather than embracing them only delays the freedom, relief and independence everyone has a right to feel.

“The BBC’s documentaries are an insightful look into perceptions about and attitudes towards our country’s older generation.

“With more than a quarter of the UK population projected to be over 65 by 2051, the series should be something we can all learn valuable lessons from.”

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Work on a new £1 million underground water supply reservoir at Steeton is now complete.

The Yorkshire Water scheme was part of a £23 million programme to create 16 underground tanks across the region.

Each reservoir stores treated drinking water prior to it being fed through to customers' taps.

Some of the facilities being replaced have been in operation for up to a century.

Work on the Steeton tank, by engineering specialist Mott MacDonald Bentley, began in January.

The new facility can hold over 900,000 litres of water.

Ed Hinton, Yorkshire Water's project manager, said: "This scheme has gone really well and we would like to thank local residents for their support whilst we carried it out.

"As always with such large civil engineering projects there's a lot of additional traffic and noise and we appreciate people's support in our quest to provide our customers with some of the best drinking water in the world."

He added that the project ran alongside a separate £60 million programme launched in April 2010 to improve reservoirs regionally.

More about the company's reservoir investment can be found on its website at yorkshirewater.com/reservoirs.

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Steeton and Silsden GP Practice is seeking new recruits to join its Patient Participation Group (PPG).

Membership of the PPG, which meets evenings four times a year, is open to anyone registered with the practice.

“The major overhaul of health services arising from the recently-passed Health and Social Care Act makes the experience and voice of patients and local residents even more important if patients are to be at the heart of high-quality local services,” said a spokesman.

The group’s role includes making positive suggestions for service improvements and representing patients and carers.

Heather Ogden, group chairman, said: “We are a friendly group. Don’t come to moan but if you are keen to help your local doctors make things even better, you will be made welcome.”

The next meeting is on September 11. For further information, phone Heather on (01535) 654909.

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A learner driver ran off from police after crashing his car in Holme Lane, Sutton-in-Craven, a court heard.

Jamie Halford, 20, was driving an Audi A4 he had bought earlier in the day when he was stopped by police on the A629 in Kildwick, Skipton, magistrates heard on Friday, June 15.

Later on in the evening of May 25, he was again spotted by police in the Audi A4 causing an obstruction in Sutton. When officers in a police car pulled up next to him, he drove off at speed, making no attempt to stop, said Beverley Dawes, prosecuting. Police followed him to Hazel Grove Road, where the car had stopped after hitting a wall of Sutton Park.

Ms Dawes said Halford got out of the car and ran off, but was stopped by an officer. He was arrested and told police he held just a provisional licence after failing the theory part of his driving test. He also told police he had bought the car the same day for £300, and had been told by the seller it would be insured until the early evening.

Halford, of Station Road, Steeton, who the court heard already had eight points on his licence, admitted careless driving, two separate charges of driving without insurance and two of without a full licence.

Magistrates endorsed his icence with six penalty points and fined him £100 for both of the two no insurance offences and an additional six points for careless driving, taking him to 12 points and an automatic six-month ban.

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A man from Steeton had a miraculous escape when a car smashed into his house as he made a cup of tea.

Bob Barras, 29, threw himself to the floor when the black Mercedes C220 crashed into the wall of the stone-built kitchen in the farmhouse he shares with his parents in Barrows Lane, Whitley Head.

The force of the collision was “like an explosion” and sent large stones from the wall and a heavy granite worktop flying across the kitchen – just missing Mr Barras.

The car had struck a lamp-post, spun on to the opposite side of the narrow country lane and into the kitchen window.

Mr Barras, who had just come home from work when the crash happened, said: “I was scared. I saw a black car coming down the road and all of a sudden there was a whack and I just jumped out of the way. I was shaking.”

His mum Linda and dad Sid ran into the badly-damaged kitchen to check on their son, who has Down’s Syndrome.

Luckily, he suffered only a small graze on his leg.

Mr Barras senior, 64, said: “He had just been at the Aga making tea. How he wasn’t killed, I don’t know.

“It was as if somebody had dropped a bomb and there was Bob on the floor. There was dust everywhere and I couldn’t see what was happening.”

Mr Barras, a former British champion cyclist, “shot outside” to see whether any of the men in the car had been injured.

Mrs Barras said: “We looked into the car, expecting to see somebody seriously injured – if not fatally – but he came back and said they had legged it.”

He then got in his car and, with a eighbour, chased the four men, who police described as Asian and in their 20s, as they made off towards Keighley Tarn.

He said: “We got halfway up the hill and they had crossed over the wall. I told the last one what I would do if I caught him.

“It was pandemonium, all the neighbours were out and the ambulance was here.”

Firefighters and the police were also called to the scene following the crash at about 5.30pm on Tuesday.

The fire service cordoned off the road and police redirected traffic as Bob was treated for shock in an ambulance.

The owner of the badly-damaged car, a man from Bradford, turned up later and told the family that the men who had fled had had permission to use the car.

The crash caused more than £40,000 worth of damage and the family are now having to cook in their camper van.

Mrs Barras is now calling for a major overhaul of safety on the narrow road.

He said: “We think it should be 20mph with traffic calming.”

A police spokesman said: “We were called to Barrows Lane at 5.34pm to reports that four men had crashed a car into a wall and run off towards Keighley Tarn.

“The men, who are described as four Asian men in their 20s, made off.

“No arrests have been made.”

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A lorry driver from Steeton shed more than 30 kilos (five stones) so he could cycle hundreds of miles for charity.

When he started his weight-loss effort in May last year, Nigel Morris weighed 144 kilos (22 stones). He said he was now down to 113 kilos (17 stones).

The Halsteads Way resident, who is self-employed, said he had ideally wanted to lose even more weight, but hoped to shed at least another ten kilos by the time he finished the cycle challenge.

“It hasn’t been easy fitting in the training around my work,” he said. “I haven’t always got enough sleep, which means that when my muscles are damaged my body doesn't get the chance to repair itself.”

He is riding from Steeton to the small Austrian town of Vitis, where his youngest daughter lives, a distance of 1,600 miles. He set out on Saturday.

The father-of-three is raising money for Rays of Sunshine, which arranges “make a wish” treats for seriously ill children. Mr Morris, 46, said: “I was going to do the cycle on my own at first, but I’ll now be doing it with Craig Adams, who is a former Bradford Northern player. He’s an HGV driver like me, though he’ll be raising money for the Candlelighters.”

To sponsor Mr Morris, visit justgiving.com/uk2austria- cycleride. He also has a Twitter account @charitytruckers and a website, charity cyclingtrucker.co.uk

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