Services for children and young people in villages like Cullingworth and Denholme are being made more local.

Efforts to bring such services closer to neighbourhoods were outlined last week to councillors.

Members of Shipley Area Committee were presented with a report about recent activities and future plans. The committee, part of Bradford Council, covers villages including Crossflatts, Harden, Cullingworth, Denholme and Wilsden.

The council’s services for children and young people are increasingly being delivered in areas based on parliamentary constituencies, such as Keighley/Ilkley and Shipley.

This means localising services such as early years, extended schools, youth service, family centres, health visiting and Connexions advice centres.

Christine Clavering was last autumn appointed area manager for Shipley, Bingley and surrounding villages.

She said she worked with other services serving children and young people, including health, education, voluntary organisations and businesses. She said: “The intention is to narrow the gap between the most and the least disadvantaged children.”

Ms Clavering said Windhill and Wrose were acknowledged as areas of deprivation and received extra funding to meet needs.

But she said small parts of Bingley Rural — a council ward that includes Cullingworth and Denholme — were equally deprived.

She said: “In these areas there is acute need for family support services and positive activities for children and young people.”

In her report, Ms Clavering outlined existing activities. This included work in Wilsden to check whether the combination of pre-school sessions with childminders is meeting local childcare needs.

Money from the early years budget met a demand for out-of-school childcare in Cullingworth and Wilsden.

A “play pod” containing equipment for drop-in play sessions with local children is proving successful in Crossflatts.

The Big Lottery Fund has paid towards the cost of play equipment in Cullingworth and on the St Ives estate, in Harden.

Schools in the Bingley Rural area have won lottery funding for free playschemes for five to 12-year-olds during most holidays until February 2010.

Denholme Primary School is buying equipment and recruiting play workers to run the sessions, from this February half-term.

A youth café, managed by young people and public agencies, is running successfully in Denholme.