ILKLEY resident Joanne Sugden has announced her intention to stand as the Conservative candidate for Ilkley and Ben Rhydding in the local elections this May.

Joanne has lived in Ilkley for more than 25 years and served on Ilkley Town Council for 12 years. During her time on the Town Council, Joanne chaired a number of committees including Finance, Communities, Environment, Grants & Awards and worked closely with local businesses. She delivered a variety of projects protecting, maintaining and improving local green spaces, including Mill Ghyll and Darwin Gardens.

Joanne voted against the imposition of the town wide 20mph zone and the introduction of speed humps and pushed for full consultation and engagement with local residents early on in the process.

Joanne organised a petition to ‘Save Ilkley Tip’, which was signed by over 3,500 people. She presented this to Bradford Council in January, making a compelling case to challenge this decision on behalf of Ilkley residents.

Joanne said: “I am horrified by the cuts in services for Ilkley residents and the significant increase in parking charges that Bradford Council intend to impose on the people of Ilkley. I am extremely concerned about the future impact these cuts will have on other important local facilities like the Lido and our library.

“It is essential we have strong local councillors who will fight to retain the services and facilities of Ilkley. This is borne out by my recent experience when challenging Bradford Council’s decision to close Ilkley Tip, coming up against the Council’s attitude to push ahead with blatant disregard of the views of the people of Ilkley.

“If elected, my absolute priority is to give residents a voice on how their town is run and to fight to protect our vital local services.”

Councillor Andrew Loy (Conservative, Ilkley) said: “I am delighted to be supporting Joanne Sugden in the local elections this May. She is already an experienced councillor and has shown herself to be an active and energetic campaigner in the fight to save Ilkley Tip."

Councillor David Nunns (Conservative, Ilkley) added: “It is with great pleasure that I support Joanne in the local elections. She is a very experienced town councillor and has fought hard to support local interests like the retention of the recycling centre to name but one.

“We are entering into a very bleak future in respect of the services this town receives from Bradford Council, and I know Joanne will fight hard if elected with both Andrew and myself in order to maintain our town’s fair share of the services we are entitled to.”