ILKLEY Parish Council has decided not to provide funding for an additional Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for the town after debating the issue this week.

Neighbourhood Police Inspector, Alan Rhees-Cooper, along with two of his colleagues, represented West Yorkshire Police at a meeting of Ilkley Parish Council on Monday, where he outlined the additional service to the the public that could be provided if members had decided to match the other half of the funding offered by West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson.

The pilot project would have run between September and March 2017 and cost local taxpayers £9,500.

But Ilkley Parish Council chairman, Councillor Brian Mann, said the consensus among committee members is they need to remain cautious and take the time to gather more evidence regarding the proposal.

He added: "We don't have a lot of problems in the town and the police are recruiting PCSOs and getting up to strength.

"Whilst the police made a case, it was not such a convincing case in the light of their continuing recruitment.

"It is public money and, as such, we have to be very careful."

Cllr Mann added: "The security of the town is something we are all very conscious of and this is a subject that will remain on our agenda. It is a matter of studying where we are through the year and making a rational decision in spring 2017."

Ilkley Labour Party chairman, Cllr Henri Murison, who proposed the funding, said the advantage would have been that the PCSO would have been based in the community and not subject to being moved around to meet demand from the wider Keighley and Ilkley area.

Cllr Murison added: "I am disappointed the extra PCSO we could have had on the ground will now not be available until at least next year.

"As the chairman confirmed to members at the meeting, we do have the money for this and having to wait until at least next year is disappointing. There have been 63 people sent warning letters in recent months for anti-social behaviour and the Neighbourhood Police Team is getting on top of the problems in Ilkley. Giving them extra help on the ground would be the best way to help them in their work to make people safer.

"Ilkley Labour still believes that despite the huge cuts by the Conservative Government to police funding in recent years, people want more visible policing, and my Labour colleagues and I will continue to campaign for this for the town."

Independent Ilkley ward councillor, Anne Hawkesworth, said: "I firmly believe that if you need extra policing it should be provided by the police and not the parish council."

Insp Rhees-Cooper also used the meeting to discuss the Community Alcohol Partnership, which is being supported by Ilkley Grammar School.

PC Sam Buckley, Ilkley ward officer, also updated the meeting on the improved situation at the Riverside Gardens, which has been subject to a police crackdown after several incidents of anti-social behaviour. She also told the meeting that a person arrested for theft after an incident outside Booths in Ilkley on June 17 had been linked to a burglary in Ben Rhydding.