AN unmade Silsden street could be repaired by adding £20 to the council tax bills of townsfolk, claims a parish councillor.

Coun Melvyn Harrison told Silsden Parish Council last Thursday that an extra amount could be added to council tax bills - known as a precept - to fund the making up of an unadopted road in the town.

The suggestion was made when wheelchair-bound Beryl Simister, of Hunters Meadow, attended a parish council meeting to ask for support in getting Spencer Avenue made up so she and other pedestrians could use the road safely.

Mrs Simister has been campaigning for months to get the road adopted by Bradford Council. At present she finds the street impossible to negotiate in her wheel chair.

Coun Harrison told her: "I fully sympathise with your personal struggle and agree that access should be provided."

He added that it would cost an estimated £80,000 to make up Spencer Avenue and said that the parish council had the power to do something about the problem.

"There's a way forward and something which we could look at quite seriously in the near future. This parish council has the authority to impose on the local rate payers a £20 one-off fee which would raise that amount."

He said it could then be a precedent for the future.

However, chairman Coun Paul Bromley stressed that the parish council's hands were tied, as it legally had no power to repair the road.

He said: "The roads are not our issue - they are the responsibility of Bradford Council. We said we would try to support you in anything you did and it's to that end that a councillor - Melvyn Harrison - put himself forward to work with you to try to get something done.

"This council may support you but we cannot do anything else. We cannot go out and repair the roads, we cannot get Bradford Met to repair the roads. We can only bring it to their attention.

"There are at least 12 other roads in Silsden which are in a condition the same or worse than you are experiencing."

Coun Bromley added that he also disagreed with Coun Harrison's suggestion to raise money from the local taxpayers.

He said: "There are 12 roads which are just as bad. Are we going to get a precept for all these roads?"

Mrs Simister told the council she had sent a 420-signature petition to Bradford Council which would be discussed on April 11.

She added that she had also carried out traffic and pedestrian surveys and had got 16 people to send letters. These will also be sent to Bradford's highways executive member Coun Latif Darr and other members of the council.

It was proposed the council give its full backing to the petition and show its support by writing to Bradford Met asking it to adopt the road.

Silsden's district councillor David Harrison said Coun Darr had indicated that he would be taking a look at the road and arranging a site meeting with Mrs Simister and relevant bodies.

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