GOOD news stories about parking in Ilkley are being sought amid concerns that “quiet voices” in the town are not being heard.

Ilkley Town Council is asking residents to give their views on how the new parking scheme is affecting them. The invitation was issued during a meeting of the town council as members considered the council’s actions and responses to the review of the parking scheme which was introduced in July.

The changes have proved controversial and a residents’ action group has been formed to fight the scheme. People living in some parts of the town have been left unable to park near their homes despite the introduction of residents’ parking permits because Bradford Council has also allocated workers’ permits to the same locations.

Bradford has acknowledged the problem and is re-allocating some of the workers permits to shared and long stay parking bays as an interim measure.

Town councillor Tom Franks told Monday’s meeting the scheme was in quite a lot of disarray.

He added: “What is particularly important for us as a council is that we have got to make sure that the quiet voices are heard.”

Cllr Franks said there were nonsenses and inconsistencies within the scheme but these were being worked through.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Ros Brown said there were some good things happening and she had heard from people who said they were able to park outside their own homes at last.

She said: “There seem to be people that are satisfied who may not be speaking up.”

She appealed to residents to come forward if they had positive experiences of the scheme.

“It is now the time to speak up if you have good news,” she said.

Cllr Mike Gibbons said the problem had been moved on and that was what people were concerned about. He described the situation as a mess and said residents would want something to be sorted out quickly.

Ilkley Mayor Mark Stidworthy said there were a spectrum of opinions on the issue and there were good points and bad points.

*The scheme will be discussed at a meeting of Bradford Council next week. Officers will be asked to consider the rules on workers’ permits in the New Year. The Council is then planning to consult on changes which could be made when the current permits run out at the end of January.

Ilkley ward councillor Anne Hawkesworth is asking Bradford to bring in a number of temporary measures until new and fully workable proposals are implemented. She is calling for the suspension of the on-street charges and charges for Railway Road and Leeds Road car parks. She also wants to see business parking permits re-allocated from residential streets to the farther on-street parking areas.

After the meeting Cllr Tom Franks said: "Ilkley Town Council is seeking opinions from residents on the new parking scheme, in order to represent these opinions to Bradford Council. We are keen to hear views on ways in which the scheme could be made to work better for residents and all others who use the town centre. To date, there has been a good deal of critical opinion, so it is important that we also hear from those for whom the scheme has been an improvement.

"Please send your views to parkingsurvey@towncouncil.ilkley.org by October 31. You can also complete a paper form which is available at the Visitors Information Centre."