Bradford Council says it has listened to residents’ concerns about parking proposals for Ilkley and is offering an alternative.
Changes to parking charges, proposals to remove the current one-hour free on-street parking concession, extend charging hours, introduce Bank Holiday charging and restrict disabled badge holders to the maximum stay period formed part of the council's previous budget decisions.
However, over 600 objections and a petition with nearly 1,500 signatures, along with concerns raised by Ilkley Business Improvement District and the Town Council, have prompted a rethink.
A report going to the Council’s Executive Committee on Thursday, 2 October, outlines a possible way forward, if the committee approves it.
The report recommends that the one-hour free parking is retained in some streets within easy walking distance of the town centre - New Brook Street, Kings Road and Cowpasture Road (a total of 161 spaces) - whilst evening and Bank Holiday charging is implemented more widely.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said:
“Ilkley’s a fantastic town and it’s important to all of us that we work together in maintaining it as a real jewel in the crown of the district. The recent Yorkshire Day celebrations showed Ilkley at its best and I was pleased the Council were able to secure that for the town. The BID and partners like the Town Council did a phenomenal job delivering the weekend’s activities.
“We understand parking changes are always sensitive and recognise the strength of feeling in the town on the importance of being able to do those regular, local quick trips that the free hour helps facilitate.
“We have looked at all the comments we have received and feel this is a good compromise that will provide over 150 spaces with a free hour within easy walking distance of the town centre. I’d like to thank everyone who fed back their concerns and hopefully this goes some way to showing we’ve listened and addressed them where possible.”
Sarah Brookfield-Almond, Ilkley BID Manager, has been campaigning for changes to the original parking proposals on behalf of local businesses. She welcomed the recent concessions and said:
"We created a bespoke survey to understand the impact on Ilkley businesses by the proposed changes to parking, and over 170 responses were presented to BDMC. Almost 95% of respondents felt that the parking charges would negatively affect their business.
"We also collated detailed feedback as well as making suggestions to the council for mitigating the severity of the changes proposed.
"Supporting Ilkley businesses is one of our key strategic pillars, and we’re pleased that our efforts have contributed to some positive amendments with allocated areas where the free 1 hour remains."
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