ILKLEY councillors have quizzed Bradford Council about plans to start charging for a free garden waste disposal service.

Bradford Council officers spoke at Ilkley Parish Council's February meeting about consultations over ending the free provision of the service in Ilkley and other parts of the Bradford District.

Officers said the non-statutory service is not offered everywhere in the District.

Bradford Council says it is experiencing extraordinary challenges and change, with Government funding for services cut by £167.5 million since 2010

"The collection of garden waste is not a statutory service, and therefore, not a service that the Council is obliged to provide," says the Council.

"However in order to meet some of the budget savings the Council is proposing to charge for the collection of Garden Waste from June 2016. In order to continue to offer a Garden Waste Service the proposal is to offer a chargeable collection service to all residents that request it, the current service is only offered across certain parts of the district."

The Council is conducting a survey via a questionnaire online at bradford.gov.uk.

Parish councillors asked what the charges would be for residents, and who currently has the free service.

They asked to see the results of the the survey.

They also heard that Bradford Council is encouraging residents to compost their garden waste.