ILKLEY Town Council is sending an information leaflet to all households in the town telling them about the important online Bradford District Local Plan consultation currently taking place.

The Town Council is concerned that for a number of reasons, including the Covid-19 restrictions and challenges of gaining internet access, some residents may still be unaware of this important consultation. The Town Council has raised its concerns about these matters with Bradford Council since the start of the consultation and will also be making its own response to the consultation.

The Bradford District Local Plan sets out a local area strategy for Ilkley and a series of preferred site allocations. This includes proposals for land in Ben Rhydding off Wheatley Grove (130 dwellings) and Coutances Way (155 dwellings) as well as land on Skipton Road (20 dwellings) and Stockeld Road (9 dwellings) in Ilkley. The location, size and site reference of these sites are shown on the Town Council’s leaflet and a copy of this leaflet has been placed on the Town Council's Facebook page. If residents wish to make representations on any of the strategies or sites proposed, they should provide the strategy or site reference and feedback their views under the relevant question on the Consultation website. Supporting evidence can also be uploaded. In addition, if residents wish to propose an additional or alternative site(s) to the preferred allocations listed, they will need to provide a plan with a red line and any further details in support.

The Plan proposes significant changes for Ilkley and Ben Rhydding which is why the Town Council urges all residents to make their views heard about these proposals through individual representations. It is possible a petition may only count as one submission so if residents have signed a petition it is important that they make individual submissions as well. By doing this, residents will also be able to receive updates about the Plan and see how their views have been taken into account.

Representations can be made using the Bradford Council Local Plan Consultation page at https://bradford.oc2.uk/ or by emailing the Local Plan Team at planning.policy@bradford.gov.uk. Residents can also call the team (01274) 433679 if they need assistance before making a submission.

Currently all submissions should be made by March 24, 2021 however the Town Council will continue to request an extension to this deadline.

In a further bid to help residents navigate the consultation Tim Stevenson has set up the webiste IlkleyGreenBelt.com with input from neighbours and local residents.

He said: "I felt it was mainly needed due to the way the consultation is being run by Bradford Council. For such a big proposal, they have only given six weeks for responses, and made it complicated to provide feedback.

"The proposal itself is extremely long and difficult to read, and often written in legal language. The site is there to try and simplify the process and explain - in simple terms - how to lodge an objection or comment. As objections that have detail on the reasons for objection are taken much more seriously, I have also detailed a number of high level points that are concerning - such as the merging of towns, flooding risk, and significant use of green belt."