A recommended “vision” for the future of Ilkley drawn up by a panel of local experts has been adopted in principle by councillors.

Ilkley Parish Council has agreed to adopt in principle the recommendations of Ilkley Future Group for a local strategy covering housing development, healthcare and education, protection of the green belt and other aspects of life in the town.

The draft vision was drawn up by the group, chaired by Councillor Brian Mann, to form the starting point for the development of an Ilkley Neighbourhood Plan, and to provide a basis for negotiation with Bradford Council on wider policy such as the forthcoming Local Plan.

The parish council has stressed the recommendations are not set in stone. They are currently undergoing a peer review with a number of people around the town, including Ilkley’s Bradford councillors.

One of the councillors involved in the Ilkley Future Group scheme, Councillor Paul Kitching, said: “There is a great deal of change which will confront Ilkley and its people over the next ten to 15 years and it is important the Parish Council prepares itself properly – so that it can represent the interests of all the people of Ilkley.”

Coun Kitching believes some issues could require substantial lobbying in future to make sure Ilkley gets what it needs to remain a desirable and pleasant place to live, work and visit for many years to come.

The council is urging people who live or work in the town to share their opinion. The 13-page vision statement of Ilkley Future Group, unveiled this week, addresses housing and employment land, business and employment, transport and parking, health, education, sport and leisure, marketing and tourism, design statement, heritage, and the environment.

The group has suggested individual parish councillors be assigned a watching brief for each subject area. It has come up with a series of practical recommendations on each topic.

These include supporting the expansion of Conservation Areas, prioritising affordable housing for key workers on brownfield sites, preserving industrial land sites for future business and jobs, supporting the re-organisation of current on-street parking, supporting the development of Ilkley’s Coronation Hospital, and addressing the provision of additional secondary education capacity within Ilkley.

The group also recommends opposing development in designated green belt areas, except in exceptional circumstances.

A ward councillor has voiced reservations about the recommendations, however.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Ind, Ilkley) wrote to members of the parish council this week, claiming the document was a wish list of “the few” at present, and disagreeing with some suggestions.

The recommendations can be read in full at parishcouncil.ilkley.org.