RESIDENTS of Ilkley will not have to fork out for running their own parish council this year, the Gazette can reveal.

Parish council and City Hall bosses have been in a wrangle since it was announced that grants for parish and town councils are to be withdrawn by the local authority.

A positive outcome to the talks had been widely expected but the man ultimately making the decision has now briefed the Gazette.

Ilkley had been singled out to lose the grant this year, instead of in 2004 like the rest of the district, because it had already raised a precept on residents, .

This idea horrified parish and Ilkley district councillors who would have been faced with an immediate loss of £25,000 from £80,000 precept cash.

As well as being angry about the financial loss, parish councillors were also concerned about the complicated funding arrangements for Town Hall services such as typing, heating and lighting.

After taking legal and other advice, members of Ilkley Parish Council took part in a series of meetings with council officers to resolve the issue.

Following the meetings, parish council chairman Michael Gibbons said nothing official had yet been announced but he expected the town would get a reprieve.

Coun Gibbons said: "I am still waiting for it to be confirmed but it looks as if it may be the case."

He said that it was unfair that Ilkley had been singled out to lose its administration grant because it raised a precept last year.

"We have the right to raise certain monies without outside interference: they don't have the right to withhold this grant from us for exercising our democratic right to raise funds," said Coun Gibbons.

He said a delay would give parish councillors the time to sort out the complicated administration costs for 2004.

Yesterday, Councillor Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural), Bradford's head of corporate affairs, said as far as he was concerned Ilkley would not lose its grant until 2004.

"I don't think the council is in any position to treat Ilkley any differently than any other town or parish council," Coun Cooke told the Gazette.

He said the issue arose because Ilkley was in the unique position as the only parish council in the district charging a precept.

Coun Cooke said: "I don't think it is an issue at the end of the day. The district council is still in a position to say we will pay you the grant."

Ilkley district councillor Anne Hawkesworth said that as far as she was concerned the agreements made with parish councils in 1973 to pay administration grants was valid for all of them until 2004, and she stressed this interpretation during meetings with Coun Cooke.

This latest example of City Hall cash cutbacks is widely thought to have been prompted by a claim by Keighley Town Council for £150,000-a-year administration costs.

It will force Ilkley Parish Council to pay costs of £25,000-a-year and in Addingham's case it will force the parish council to raise a precept for the first time in its history to cover its £10,000-a-year running costs.

But at least Ilkley parish councillors - and the residents - will have another 12 months to prepare for the changes.