A CHANGE to the May bank holiday has caused a headache for the organisers of one of the biggest events in Ilkley's calendar.

Ilkley Carnival - which includes a parade which attracts thousands on to the streets of the town - is traditionally held on the first May bank holiday Monday, but this year the holiday has been moved to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE day on Friday, May 8.

Because of this, the carnival will now be staged on Sunday, May 3.

However, organisers were shocked by Friday's announcement that the Tour de Yorkshire and associated sportive event would be visiting Ilkley on the same day.

Talks are now under way between carnival organisers and Bradford Council to see how the cycle race will impact on the carnival. There is also an added clash of the Real Food Ilkley market being held on The Grove on the same day.

Chairman of Ilkley Carnival Andrew Stacey said: "We are discussing various options with the council such as if we can bring the parade forward and if the sportive route could be diverted.

"We hope that we can get the issues resolved as we want the carnival to go ahead.

"There are 1,000 children who would be very disappointed if it didn't."

On May 3 the competitors in the Tour de Yorkshire will pass through Ilkley in the afternoon, avoiding a clash with the carnival parade, however amateur riders will be taking part in the sportive in the morning.

The event, organised by Human Race, gives cyclists the chance to ride the same roads as the professionals. The route as it is currently stands would impact on the carnival's parade.

Neil Martin, marketing manager at Human Race, said: "It looks like the movement of the bank holiday Monday has caused some confusion.

"We are now working with Bradford Council to make sure all events can run concurrently.

"It looks like we will make a small tweak to the course and we will share the route once it has been confirmed. We hope that Ilkley will have a wonderful day."

* Ilkley Carnival this week announced the theme of this year's event will be 'Our Planet'.

The choice of theme was the result of asking the community for ideas. The carnival committee recognised the many groups involved in environmental projects across the district and wanted to raise their profile.

Andrew Stacey said: “For the last three years one of our main sponsors has been Aireborough Skip Hire of Yeadon and so we have been aware of the importance of minimising our impact on the environment.

"All of the waste on the carnival showground is carefully segregated into recyclables and renewables and 80 per cent of it is recycled.

"However, we want to do more and share the vision of our Mayor and Town Council in addressing environmental issues within our wonderful town."

The Carnival is already talking to several local companies and organisations and plans a series of exciting initiatives leading up to the family fun day.

Details will be added to the carnival website - ilkleycarnival.org, Twitter and Facebook when confirmed.

In the meantime the committee is open to suggestions and can be contacted from links on the carnival website.

In 2019 the carnival gave away £15,000 to local groups, bringing the total raised for the community to £70,000 in the last five years.