TRANSPORT minister Andrew Jones has pledged to make sure national rail infrastructure manager Network Rail participates in talks with Bradford Council in a bid to try and finally resolve parking problems in Ilkley.

During his top-level visit to Ilkley Town Hall with Keighley MP Kris Hopkins on Friday, Mr Jones, who is himself from Ilkley, heard residents' concerns about obstructive pavement parking and the volume of commuter cars in residential areas.

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, and Harrogate MP, spoke about the expected increase in passenger capacity on the Wharfedale Line, and called for transport heads and the local authority to work together on Ilkley's parking issues.

"I think it's a council and Network Rail-led initiative to move it forwards," Mr Jones told a group of residents and councillors in the meeting on Friday afternoon.

"I can make sure Network Rail will participate."

Mr Jones also hinted at train services potentially increasing in frequency under the new rail franchise for the region. The winning bidder is expected to be announced before Christmas.

He heard residents' calls for extra commuter parking spaces in town, and the enforcement of parking rules. They told Mr Jones of pavements being obstructed by parked cars, resulting in residents with mobility scooters, as well as parents with pushchairs, being forced to take their lives in their hands by walking into the road to pass.

One resident pointed out there is Bradford Council-owned land off Wheatley Lane in Ben Rhydding – once the proposed new site for Ilkley Grammar School – laying empty, and asked if car parking could be provided there.

But the meeting was told this land is likely to be designated for housing.

Residents also asked about the possibility of the land off Railway Road – previously earmarked for a new Tesco supermarket – being used to create a multi-story car park.

They said Harrogate, in Mr Jones' own constituency, has disc parking schemes in the town centre and multi-story car parks.

Mr Hopkins pointed out, however, that the land is not publicly owned.

In a bid to find a local solution, Ilkley parish councillor, Mike Ridgway, has been pressing for several months for a minister to visit the town to try and tackle the growing issue, which regularly fills the Gazette's letters pages.

He has also played a major role in the parish council's own efforts to find an answer to the parking problems, instigating a petition earlier this year calling for Bradford Council to carry out a full review of on and off-street car parking.

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