ILKLEY Business Forum held its annual meeting last week when plans were put in place for a raft of projects which will further the aims of Ilkley's business community.

"We're particularly keen on making Ilkley a Business Improvement District (BID for short) which could see around half a million pounds invested directly into Ilkley over the next five years," said Helen Rhodes, chairperson of the Ilkley Business Forum. "An outstanding team of local business owners have been busy pursuing funding and approval to get the BID off the ground, and we're hopeful that all this hard work will bring dividends in the months ahead."

On top of this, the Ilkley Business Forum team reported on the success of the Ilkley Business Awards, of last year's Thrive Yorkshire event, plus a series of 'Thrive on the Road' events which start in the coming week.

"Whilst the forum members meetings are a great place to come and network with other Ilkley businesses, we should remember that the Ilkley Business Forum do a great deal more, like funding the tracking of footfall through the town centre and enabling cost effective advertising for Ilkley businesses in the central car park," said Ian White, communications officer for the forum. "Anyone wanting to get involved in the forum, or to visit some of the events that we put on, should visit the Ilkley Business Forum website for updates and information."

To find out more about Ilkley Business Forum, visit their website at www.ilkleybusinessforum.co.uk