THE CHAIRMAN of Ilkley Parish Council has given his public backing to a new leaf clearing scheme which has run into controversy.

Bradford Council has just launched a trial scheme in Ilkley in which householders are helping to clear leaves outside their properties. But despite assurances that the scheme would be voluntary and that the council's own service would not be reduced the trial has prompted criticism in some quarters.

At a meeting of Ilkley Parish Council this week Chairman Stephen Butler said he and he wife Cllr Kate Butler had been doing leaf clearing to help Bradford Council out as much as possible.

They were thanked by Sue Gledhill, of Bradford Council's Keighley Area office, who had outlined the proposed trial at last month's parish council meeting.

Putting the scheme forward she had stressed would be an add on rather than a reduction in the service: "We are not reducing our service - our service is going to be what it has always been," she said.

She added:"We want to try it as a little bit of a trial and so we would encourage people to work with us."

This week she stressed that the idea was only a suggestion and was meant as an "as well as" rather than a cut.

She added: "We have collected so far 40 bags of leaves and it is still on going - but it didn't get off to the best of starts in terms of the negative publicity it received."

Under the new initiative people are being asked if they want to sweep up in an area where they live. The council's own 'clean team' will then take the leaves away free of charge.

At last month's meeting Ms Gledhill said: "We are just doing what we have always done but sometimes people don't feel that is enough."

She added: "We just haven't got the manpower to be cleaning every street every day for the next two months."