AN ATTEMPT to ease parking problems in Ilkley was being hampered by City Hall red tape, residents were told.

Parish councillors have written to Bradford Council asking for parking charges to be removed from a car park in Railway Road, writes Paul Langan.

Before the charges were introduced, train commuters to Leeds and Bradford used the car park to leave their cars all day.

Parish councillors were worried that streets in the town were becoming clogged up by

drivers avoiding car park charges while the car park stayed empty.

Parish councillors have asked Bradford Council to remove the charges from the car park but at this week's annual parish meeting, chairman Kate Brown reported that they were still waiting for an answer.

l Vital funds for highway maintenance are having to be spent on massive insurance premiums because of a sharp rise in compensation claims against the council.

A report to the highway scrutiny committee says that the cost of insurance premiums has risen from £560,000 in 1995 to around £1 million this year.

A report to the committee says: "The number and cost of claims against highways authorities has escalated in recent year and Bradford is no exception to this trend."

Ilkley councillor Colin Powell (Tory) said: "Ilkley is known for uneven pavements and I would like to see some action."

He added: "All that insurance is money that could be spent on highway maintenance."

Tory district and parish councillor Anne Hawkesworth said that a new pavement cleaning machine introduced in Ilkley by Bradford Council was suspected of causing problems by lifting the sand out the joints, making the stone flags loose.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.