LOCAL authorities have tough decisions to make in the face of swingeing cuts to public funding. Everyone accepts that. But as well as balancing the budgets, councils must also have a well-balanced range of services which they provide directly or
RAIL commuters on Wharfedale and Airedale line services can now access free Wi-Fi internet in a joint initiative involving two local authorities and a government internet access scheme. Train operator Northern Rail officially launched the service
ANY improvement to local public transport services is to be welcomed. Helping more rural areas keep connected with the big towns and cities, where so much business, employment and facilities are to be found, is of great benefit to people who live
A CONTROVERSIAL one-way scheme for a Guiseley road has been withdrawn after widespread opposition. Local councillors were inundated with emails and letters of objection after plans were put forward for the trial of a a one-way system on Victoria
THE Friends of the Manor House will hear a talk on the life and works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Mike Savage will give the talk at the Manor House Museum and Art Gallery, Ilkley, on Thursday, February 5, starting at 7.30pm. Visitors are also welcome
A COLLECTION held at a First World War display in Pool-in-Wharfedale has raised £153 for the Poppy Appeal. The money was donated during the exhibition at the Methodist Church, held last year to as part of the national commemoration events marking the
A DISCUSSION about the history of local religion and belief will be held in Pool-in-Wharfedale next week. The History of Pool Group event, its first of 2015, takes place from 7.30pm to 9pm at Wharfedale Court on Tues-day. Updates on the group’s activities
A DROP-IN Neighbourhood Plan day will be held in Pool-in-Wharfedale next weekend. The scheme’s steering committee is holding the information session at the Village Hall from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, February 7. Residents, community groups and
A MINISTER is leaving New Zealand to take up a new post at Rawdon. The Rev Derek Allan has been appointed as minister at Trinity Church and will be greeted with an induction service led by the Rev Graham Ensor, the Regional Minister/Team Leader
PLANS for a station at Horsforth Woodside have been dealt a blow after it failed to make it on to a list of potential developments. Proposed stations for Guiseley Silverdale and Arthington have also been knocked back in the review of more than
HELP is needed to organise a war chest to defend Ilkley’s green spaces against development, says a councillor, as a crucial hearing looms over Bradford Council’s Local Plan. Bradford Council submitted the Core Strategy of its Local Plan to the
ILKLEY Grammar School students made the most of the opportunity to view the snowy scenes in the valley on Wednesday last week, as well as enjoying their wintery PE lesson. Even though it was snowy under foot, the intrepid students set out orienteering
THE number of registered voters in the Ilkley and Craven wards of Bradford Council has fallen since last year, according to a prospective parliamentary candidate. Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Ilkley, John Grogan, has released
A DEBATE on the future of the Leeds Children’s Heart Unit is being called for by an MP. Stuart Andrew, MP for Horsforth and Aireborough, raised the issue in Parliament last week and stressed the importance of continuing to support the unit.
A FORMER Major in the parachute regiment came to Horsforth to help a prospective Labour candidate fight for a seat in Parliament. Barnsley Central MP, Shadow Minister for Justice and war veteran, Dan Jarvis, joined Jamie Hanley in Horsforth to
AN OPEN day is being held at Guiseley’s historic theatre to attract new blood, new finance and a vision for the future. The public are being invited to the event on Saturday from 11am to 3pm to hear about ambitious plans for the theatre which was
SCHOOL staff and students are pledging to make the internet a better place as part of this year’s Safer Internet Day which takes place on Tuesday February 10. The theme this year is “Let’s create a better internet together” and part of this has
SWIMMERS are staying away from Ilkley Pool because of poor standards of cleanliness, it has been claimed. A regular swimmer at the Bradford Council-run pool in Denton Road claims local people are now going elsewhere to swim as the pool and changing
THOUSANDS of pounds of ward councillors’ money is to be spent on improvements to central Ilkley shopping street The Grove. Two of Ilkley’s ward councillors met with council officers last week and are now awaiting costings for work to improve the
A CRICKET club, which counts sporting legend Hedley Verity among its former players, is being given £10,000 funding for renovation. Horsforth Hall Park, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, will use the money from local councillors
OTLEY looks set to be without its Maypole for at least another month. The 75ft tall historic landmark was removed last June after a section was found to be dangerously rotten. Many in the town called on Leeds City Council to take urgent action
WHARFEDALE councillors are warning that new school admission rule proposals could split up siblings. Currently children with an elder brother or sister already at a school have a priority case for also gaining admission. But Leeds City Council
A FUNDRAISING cafe at Pool-in-Wharfedale has donated £200 to a sheltered housing complex to buy new kitchen equipment. The donation from the Friday Cafe to Wharfedale Court is the latest in a series of donations that have been made to charities
A TEENAGE motorist has been disqualified from driving for 20 months after admitting drink driving on Skipton Road in Ilkley. Louise Godden, 19, of North Parade, Ilkley, admitted the offence and was also fined £300 by Bradford and Keighley Magistrates
BRADFORD’s Lord Mayor and Ilkley councillor Mike Gibbons went walking with Street Angels over the weekend to see the help they give to late night revellers in distress. Cllr Gibbons went on patrol with a team of the hi-vis volunteers offering support
ILKLEY’S Conservative MP Kris Hopkins has condemned Labour-led Bradford Council’s plans to strip Ilkley Literature Festival of support funding. In a consultation document, the council is proposing to remove grant assistance of £11,178, from the
FRONT desk services at tourist information centres are important as cuts loom for Bradford District tourism services, says a councillor. A “substantial” cut to tourism budgets proposed by Bradford Council in the next financial year is expected
A POOL-IN-WHARFEDALE church’s repair and redecoration project has received a £900 boost. The money, donated by ward councillors, is the final piece of funding St Wilfrid’s Church needs for the work. Councillor Barry Anderson (Con, Adel and
ILKLEY Summer Festival is to get about £4,000 from Ilkley Parish Council this year as festival organisers prepare for dwindling sources of funding. Festival managing director Anne Hawkesworth said she was delighted with the support from the parish
AN AMATEUR photographer has beaten off competition from thousands of others around the world to reach the finals of an international competition. Shaun Walby was competing against professionals and fellow amateurs in the Outdoor Photographer of
WANDS are at the ready for the 2015 Ilkley Carnival, with the theme being announced officially as Fantasy and Fiction. This year’s event, which takes place on Monday, May 4, coincides with the hugely popular, fan-proclaimed Star Wars day, meaning
SIX-year-old Sam Brown has taken his fight for treatment funding to the very heart of power. The Otley boy, one of only 78 people in the country with the life-limiting Morquio Syndrome, is waiting anxiously to see if NHS England will pay for the
A VOLUNTEERING partnership between local businesses and Outside the Box is proving to be a success. Outside the Box cafe’s latest volunteer, Jewels Neil, is using the “actioneering days” that her employers, Yorkshire Building Society, allocate
AN OTLEY charity that provides a transport service for the elderly has been told it ‘doesn’t qualify’ for a disabled parking badge. The shock decision is now being challenged by Otley Action for Older People and councillors, who have branded it
ILKLEY’S annual precept is set to increase again as a £24,000-plus Community Fund is set up to help safeguard services against local authority cutbacks. Ilkley Parish Council this week agreed to increase its precept by just over two per cent in
