COUNCIL chiefs are to remove plastic rubbish bins from a conservation area after being accused of breaking their own planning regulations.

Three perspex bins suddenly appeared in The Grove a few months ago and traders and Ilkley Parish Council began a battle to get rid of them.

Now Bradford Council says it will remove them within the next six months. The brightly-coloured bins - which bear large advertising slogans - were produced by a company called Trash Media.

It is claimed that the company was paid a large sum of money by a trader to have the bins placed in Skipton - but Craven Council refused to take them.

Miggy Bailey, clerk to the parish council said: "Skipton would not entertain them. So presumably Trash Media has done a deal with Bradford. We had no idea where they came from."

Bradford Council then placed the bins - without consulting traders - along The Grove. David Abbey, manager of W H Smiths, said: "They are an eyesore. They are not Ilkley at all. They do not fit in with the town. They just appeared one morning."

Ilkley Parish Council, backed by traders, waged war against the bins - and accused Bradford of being in contravention of the planning laws they set themselves.

Mrs Bailey, who is also a member of Ilkley Tourist Management Committee, said: "They did not get permission from planning to put them there and neither did they get permission from highways."

Sally Carter, manager of Betty's Tearooms, said: "We were not happy with them. We have objected and written to various people. We have been told that they are going - and that is good news."

The flames of the controversy were further fanned when three black and gold Victoriana bins appeared along a little used road. Mrs Bailey said she was baffled as to who would use the bins, which have been placed along the old Addingham Road.

She said: "It is astonishing that in a conservation area they can put three perspex litter bins and yet at Sand Beds where we hardly even have any walkers there are three new black and gold bins."

A spokeswoman for Bradford Council Cleansing said: "We have met with the company which supplied the bins and told them that we will be removing them as soon as the contract ends, which will be in the next six months.

"The objective behind the exercise was simply to try to generate income to support the cleansing services and local businesses were approached first for advertising. The perspex bins will be replaced with the black and gold Victoriana type."

l According to Ben Rhydding resident John Nash, of Wheatley Lane, the town has lost 13 bins in recent months, which have not been replaced.

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