Congratulations to Bradford Council for having the common sense to support Ilkley’s bid to make the most of what looks set to be a tourist boom when the Tour de France Grand Depart 2014 comes to town.

With 11 months still to go and more than 80 per cent of the town’s beds already booked up for the occasion, a temporary campsite seems an excellent way of keeping visitors and their money in the town rather than taking it elsewhere.

Traders must be rubbing their hands in glee at the news that the Council is working on drawing up a formal agreement with Ilkley Cycling Club to let it run a campsite on its land at East Holmes Field.

The club says it wants to create a festival-type atmosphere – no doubt the ‘f’ word will strike fear into the hearts of some of the town’s more genteel folk. But, let’s face it, campers setting up base to watch the world-famous race wheel past are not going to be the same sorts who rave rowdily at music festivals partying until dawn or long after sunrise. More likely, instead they will be up at dawn tugging on their Lycra and saddling up for a quick spin of their own before the organised excitement gets under starter’s orders.

Opening up a campsite would be a golden opportunity for Ilkley, with a lot more to win at the end of the day than a yellow jersey.

Remembering lives lost in war

Across this country there cannot have been a community that was left untouched by the horrors of the First World War.

The ‘war to end all wars’ took the lives of millions from around the globe, leaving a trail of pain and despair in its wake.

Such was the scale of its destruction that it is almost impossible to comprehend – but it can be brought into focus with the stories of individual families and communities.

With the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of war approaching, it is only fitting that we take time to remember those who lost their lives, and those whose loved ones never came home.

It is particularly important that young people understand the role the conflict played in shaping the world we live in today – and a project in Otley is aiming to do just that.

Legacies of War: Untold Otley Stories has been awarded thousands of pounds of lottery funding – and such is the importance of the subject that it is undoubtedly money well spent.