Town planning students from Sheffield will be helping to preserve Ilkley's heritage with a project to investigate the town's Conservation Area.

The three students are part of a group of 12 from Sheffield Hallam University who are spending three months in the Bradford district.

Their work, which will also take in Bradford City Centre and Haworth, will form part of their final year assessment and provide the council with vital information.

The three students covering Ilkley will look at the heritage of the town, changes in the area and Conservation Area boundaries before producing a document for public consultation and a full report for councillors.

Ilkley's town centre Conservation Area was drawn up 30 years ago and Ilkley Civic Society has been pressing for this to be extended to better preserve the character of the town.

Councillor Phil Thornton (Lab, Shipley East), the deputy executive member for transportation and planning, said: "I am delighted that these students, who will be qualified and working themselves within six months, are coming to the district to do this work."

Ilkley Civic Society chairman Bob Tilley said: "This will be a great help to moving things on fast and we in the Ilkley Civic Society will help them as much as they need."

The Civic Society has joined with the Parish Council to form a group to develop an Ilkley Town Design Statement to produce a policy to counter the many apartment and other high density developments which are planned for areas outside the current Conservation Area.

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