A parish council chairman thanked his colleagues for their determined response to the challenges posed by Bradford Council’s spending cuts.

Presenting his annual report for 2013/14, Councillor John Huxley, of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, highlighted his colleagues’ dedication and hard work.

He singled out their contributions towards retaining the threatened Haworth Central Park public toilets and the Treetops children’s centre.

“Both campaigns were successful, although in Treetops’ case we have a year’s breathing space to provide a sustainable future for this valuable asset,” he said.

His report added that work to salvage some form of community emergency service at Haworth fire station was still under way – led by the Worth Valley Joint Transport and Emergency Services Committee.

Coun Huxley said: “It is demanding work as nothing like this has ever been attempted in the country before. It is hoped that this might provide the basis on which other rural and semi-rural service provision can be based in the future.”

He paid tribute to two parish councillors who had departed during the civic year – Rosemary Key and Steve Illingworth – and welcomed the pair who have replaced them, councillors Nikki Carroll and Trudy Mahon.

He acknowledged that one project that appears to have “hit the buffers” is the idea of returning commuter services to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

“As members of the Worth Valley Joint Transport committee, together with Keighley Town Council and Oxenhope Parish Council, we’ve been working with the railway for several years to explore the idea to see whether it was feasible,” he said.

“At a meeting with Metro and Bradford Council in January it became clear that they considered the idea would need too much subsidy.

“While discussions at a party political level are still going on, it seems unlikely that the idea will become a reality in the near future.”