Plans to open a pharmacy in Oxenhope received a mixed reaction from parish councillors.

They were asked to give their response to proposals to change the use of a house to a commercial classification to allow for a pharmacy at 36 Station Road.

Council members noted that the property had been a newsagent’s for many years before it became a house.

Councillor Penny Cusdin said: “I think it’s great a company wants to come back into Oxenhope and provide a service.”

Her colleagues said they had no objection in principle to changing the house’s use to a commercial designation. But acting chairman Coun David Ashcroft and Coun Derrick Hopkinson said they felt the building and its immediate surroundings may not be spacious enough to accommodate a phar-macy.

Coun Ashcroft said: “I feel this property may not be big enough, and I’m also concerned about space for deliveries and parking.”

He and Coun Hopkinson also expressed reservations about the proposed signs and new window, saying that were out of character with the area.

The application is currently in the hands of Bradford Council’s planning department.

l Crimes in Oxenhope over the previous six weeks included a break-in at a garage where mountain bikes were targeted, the theft of some Yorkshire stone, theft of an exhaust pipe from a Sprinter van and two instances of criminal damage.

The monthly report was delivered to councillors by Sergeant Chris Watson, of the Worth Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team.

He added that criminals were continuing to target Land Rover vehicles and that this type of offence was linked to the stealing of construction vehicles and farming machinery.

Coun Tony Jones asked whether officers would welcome the permanent installation of number plate recognition devices on the four or five roads leading in and out of Oxenhope.

Sgt Watson said it would be a help, but warned about cost implications.

l Coun Jones said the firm Enterprise Inns had said “no” to the idea of having a postal facility in the village’s Bay Horse pub.

Despite this disappointment he still hoped to be able to discuss the possibility of having a post office in Oxenhope’s Co-op branch.