BRADFORD Council has published its responses to 1,198 formal objections to the Ilkley Parking Review.

The majority of complaints, received by the Council as part of a public consultation exercise into the parking scheme, have been overruled, with only a handful upheld or partly upheld.

The scheme, which will see the introduction of parking restrictions, including residents' permit parking and on-street charging, will now go ahead, with a few modifications.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Ind, Ilkley) said: "As was expected many comments which were objecting to the policy were no balled and batted to touch.

"I am very concerned that the impact of dispersal to Ben Rhydding, although acknowledged, was given a wait and see response - kind words butter no parsnips.

"How long will it take to judge the impact and react. Yes - money has been allocated for a park and ride but it is fraught with problems from a planning highway perspective and will, if allowed, produce extra traffic on an already difficult road - Bolling Road."

Newly elected district councillor Kyle Green (Ilkley, Con) said: "It is hugely disappointing that once again the views of Ilkley residents have been ignored by Bradford Council. The response to the initial plans from a huge number of residents, businesses, and other groups who opposed the parking proposals in Ilkley shows the strength of feeling in the town regarding this issue.

"The main issue regarding these proposals, in my opinion and that of the majority of residents I have spoken to, is that they do not address the biggest problem of parking in Ilkley: a lack of parking spaces. Why this issue has not been addressed properly, instead of simply being a small consideration in the decision sheet, is something I will be questioning in my role as a district councillor for Ilkley.

"Indeed, the only suggested solution to the lack of space in the town of Ilkley is the suggestion that £150,000 has been set aside to build a park and ride in Ben Rhydding. Given the fact that the majority of traffic from commuters comes from the Addingham direction, that would then add to traffic on the A65, causing further environmental issues, moving widespread parking issues to Ben Rhydding, and still failing to address the issue of why commuters park in Ilkley.

"So far, the lack of understanding demonstrated by Bradford Council regarding both the underlying issues as well as residents' concerns has been hugely disappointing. This has led to a fear that parking charges are being imposed simply to raise more revenue for the council rather than to solve the issues that are present. This is exemplified by the fact that the council had not realised its plans impacted Sunday worshippers and imposed restrictions on private land where enforcement was not possible. It is, furthermore, rather worrying that in future, residents and businesses are likely to be forced to pay for a permit simply to park outside their own address.

"As a result, I will continue to object to the proposals until they show a joined-up approach that includes definitive, well-thought through plans that really address the concerns of residents and address the fundamental issue of a lack of parking spaces."

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “The independent Ilkley Parking Review came out of public concern around indiscriminate all day parking in residential streets.

“The majority were in favour of bringing resident only parking to support people struggling to park near their homes.

“We have considered in detail the 1198 comments we have received and we understand the strength of feeling around some of the recommendations. We have agreed to make multiple changes to the details of the scheme, where it is possible to accommodate people’s needs and we will monitor its impact closely.

“We are working to start implementing the revised scheme later in the year. Once we have a firm date we will be contacting residents and businesses and will continue to engage with people as we work towards this.”

To see all the documents visit https://www.bradford.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/parking/ilkley-parking-review