THE IMPENDING return of a regular bus service between Keighley and Halifax has been welcomed by local politicians.

Bradford Council Conservative Group this week described the route, which was withdrawn several years ago, as valuable for people getting to jobs and visiting relatives.

Mike Ellis is a councillor representing Bingley Rural, whose villages Denholme, which the bus will travel through. He said the service was due to be reinstated in September.

He said: "My Conservative colleagues and I have campaigned for its reinstatement since the Keighley-Halifax bus route was withdrawn and we have been very heartened in recent times as it has been seriously looked at as a proposal.

"We always felt that whilst the route may not have been deemed financially viable by bus operators, it had value in that it increased the mobility between Halifax and Keighley, of people without cars, which increased the employment prospects for some, whilst also making it easier for people in either town to visit relatives in the other.

"When it became apparent that the Government was looking to support withdrawn routes with those benefits, we hoped that they could be persuaded that a link between Keighley and Halifax fitted the criteria."