Ilkley Moor has been given a £50,000 landfill tax cash boost – the latest funding secured by the Friends of Ilkley Moor.

The conservation group has been awarded £50,000 from environmental body Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (Wren), a not-for-profit business which awards grants to community projects from funds donated by Waste Recycling Group.

The latest cash injection will continue the group’s work fighting back against bracken which has taken over parts of the landscape, and improving paths for walkers.

Friends project officer Tracy Gray said: “This is wonderful news, and will fund the control of bracken on the lower slopes of the moor adjacent to footpaths, and areas popular with the general public such as the Cow and Calf Rocks, and other sites of interest.

“Money will also be spent on work resurfacing footpaths. I hope to organise and supervise volunteer parties to help Bradford Council undertake the works.

“This will increase the work already completed on over 1,500m of paths on the moor,” she added.

Work on this project is expected to be carried out this year and next.

The Friends of Ilkley Moor said it would like to thank all those groups and organisations who supported the application for the funding of the project.

Wren was established in 1997 to fund projects which are eligible for funding under the Landfill Communities Fund.

The company receives the majority of its funding from the landfill tax levied by Waste Recycling Group.

It offers funding between £15,000 and £75,000 in the main grants scheme, as well as smaller sums for small environmental improvement projects.

The Friends of Ilkley Moor, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, also raises money through memberships, donations and a give-as-you-earn scheme.

The group has so far helped fund restoration and resurfacing of pathways on the moor, providing better access for visitors and helping keep walkers to the paths, to avoid erosion of more of the natural landscape.

The Friends of Ilkley Moor also recently secured a £2,000 donation from the producers of ITV soap Emmerdale, after raising concerns about a TV shoot churning up the ground on part of the moor.