And so another battle royale over the plans to build a bigger Tesco supermarket in Ilkley appears to have concluded.

Although those opponents who attended last week’s Bradford Council Regulatory and Appeals Committee meeting were evidently disappointed that the committee did not challenge the conclusions of the planning inspector’s rulings in 2010, there were a few doubts around beforehand that refusing permission would do anything other than delay the inevitable.

Aside from the possibility of another appeal, there is the question of whether the company could claim it had successfully satisfied the planning conditions and started work on the site before the original consent expired.

Any possible intervention by the Secretary of State will be interesting. Certainly, it gives a further chance for those opposed to the store to air their views that local circumstances have indeed changed since the planning appeal.

But whether it would be an outright block to any possibility of a bigger supermarket being built in future is another matter.

At the end of the day, the determination of Tesco to succeed in its plans for its retail operations in Ilkley may be the most significant factor.

Celebrations for a superb festival

The 40th Ilkley Literature Festival is over – and what a way to celebrate a landmark birthday!

Once again the organisers have excelled in creating a superb festival that has drawn the biggest names in literature to the town and attracted visitors from across the globe.

It is encouraging that, even at a time when people are still having to tighten their belts, ticket sales were well up on last year.

It seems that there will always be a thirst for reading and a prime event such as the Ilkley Literature Festival will thrive, whatever the economic climate.

It’s difficult to pinpoint highlights from the wonderful programme, but as festival director Rachel Feldberg said, the Any Questions event, Jonathan Miller’s festival closer and Simon Armitage’s ruminations on the work of Ted Hughes will no doubt linger in many festival-goers’ minds. The Ilkley Literature Festival is one of the high points in the local calendar and for four decades has been a major force for bringing people into Ilkley.

There were some 26,000 people attending festival events, and whether they were local or came from far away, they will have long-lasting good memories of Ilkley.

They say life begins at 40, so we look forward to seeing what Ilkley Festival comes up with next as it goes from strength to strength.