of yarn remained important. Towards the end of the 19th century a great deal of development was visible including the opening in 1881 of a rail link between Bacup and Rochdale. Passenger services on the railway stopped in 1947. Two reservoirs, at Cowm and Spring Mill, were completed in 1877 and 1887 to augment Rochdale's water supplies. In 1910, a tram service was introduced by Rochdale Corporation, first to Whitworth and later extended to Bacup. Buses replaced these in 1932. The population of Whitworth reached its peak of 9,574 in 1901 following which the recession in industry in the 1930s and the effects of the Second World War saw it decline. The first post war census in 1951 declared a population of 7,442 which declined further to 7,031 by 1961. Since then, however, the figure has risen to its present total of around 7,500. Governance It is part of the Rossendale and Darwen constituency, with Jake Berry having been the Member of Parliament since 2010. Local government services in Whitworth are provided by three local authorities; Lancashire County Council, Rossendale Borough Council and Whitworth Town Council. Whitworth Town Council was formed in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, as part of the terms of successor parishes. Prior to this date, Whitworth formed the Whitworth Urban District which was the administrative unit of the valley but was abolished following the reorganisation. The history of local government in Whitworth began in 1874. The latter end of that century, as has previously been mentioned, saw a great deal of local development. As a result, a local board was set up in 1874 to administer Whitworth. Further independence arrived towards the end of the century with the creation of the Parish of Whitworth, one of nineteen new parishes carved out of the original vast Rochdale Parish. Complete independence came in June 1894 when an urban district council replaced the Local Board. The first meeting was held on 3 January 1895 and the first chairman was William Ernest Whitworth. With this, Whitworth had become ecclesiastically and administratively autonomous from its neighbour. However, in 1974 when Whitworth Urban District was abolished and Whitworth was absorbed into the newly created Rossendale Borough. The town council consists of twelve elected members and a part-time town clerk. Its mission statement is "To improve the quality of life for the community of Whitworth". The town council acts as a