HAWORTH'S former fire station remains disused more than two and a half years after it was shut, despite a buyer being found for the prominent building.

And a Worth Valley ward councillor said she understands that the legal process to complete the sale is taking longer than was first anticipated.

Councillor Rebecca Poulsen said she had contacted West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, raising concerns over the deteriorating appearance of the

empty building and its forecourt.

"It looks unkempt and unloved," she added. "The grass outside is well over knee high.

"Of course this is right in the centre of the village, in such a visible location. It's not like it's down a side street where no one will notice it.

"I have contacted the fire services property department to ask them about progress.

"They got back to me to say that they'd expected the building to have been sold by now, so they'd taken it off their maintenance list.

"They said they do appreciate it's still their building, so will carry out maintenance work until the sale has gone through. We'll have to wait and see."

A fire service spokesman has responded: "The property is sold subject to contracts. We have already informed Cllr Poulsen of this and have agreed to cut the grass."

She said details on who the buyer of the building is could not yet be disclosed, adding that the sale contract is expected to be completed by September 17.

The old retained fire station, at the corner of Station Road and Bridgehouse Lane, was shut at the end of 2014, put up for sale and marketed by chartered surveyors firm Walker Singleton for offers in the region of £275,000.

While the single-storey property was on the market, this firm said the building measures 1,763 square feet and features two fire engine bays with an adjacent administration block, including an office, recreation room, kitchen and washroom.

The site, which is immediately next to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, also includes a car park and vehicle access to the front as well as lawned areas to the side and rear.

The fire station was closed as part of a major programme of cost cutting.

Despite protests and a high profile campaign to save the facility, the fire service said worse than expected Government funding cuts meant it did not have the money to participate in an initiative to re-open the premises as a community-run safety hub.

The struggle to keep the property for public use turned acrimonious after Keighley Area Committee agreed that the building should become an asset of community value, meaning campaigners seeking to re-open it would have a say in its future.

But West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue objected to the classification and successfully appealed against it.