THE committee in charge of an important Haworth venue has applied for a premises licence for the building.

The licence is being sought for Haworth Village Hall and Community Hub, in Butt Lane, to help it accommodate more events and to host functions at shorter notice.

Committee members have applied to Bradford Council to be allowed to use the building for plays, films, live music, recorded music, dance performances, the supply of alcohol and provision of late night refreshments.

This venue has already been hosting a variety of public events, since the volunteer committee took over its management. But each of these events has required its own, one-off Temporary Event Notice.

Jonny Olsson, chairman of the village hall's managing committee, said a full premises licence would make the venue more flexible and versatile.

He said it has already hosted activities related to Haworth's 1940s Weekend, the annual Haworth Steampunk Weekend and it even accommodated a wedding in June.

"Our committee took over fully from Bradford Council in April, and we are becoming busier," he said.

"We hosted indoor car boot sales for a while and we hope to have more sales-type events next year. We've started taking bookings via the Haworth Contact Point.

"If possible we'd like to have the premises licence in time for the next Steampunk Weekend." (November 18 to 20)

Haworth Main Street trader Mike Hutchinson, who is also on the committee, said: "At first we wanted to see how things went in terms of bookings, and it's actually been going quite well.

"We've got people wanting to book for next year and bookings coming in from further afield – not just from people in Haworth.

"The sooner we get this premises licence the better, because it'll help us put things on a firmer footing."

Mr Olsson stressed that he and his fellow committee members are all volunteers, and are keen to hear from people who may have some spare time to support the village hall.

People can register their interest at Worth Valley Police and Community Contact Point, which is at 28 Changegate, Haworth.