ANYONE interested in Ilkley history should be delighted with the decision to preserve the towns two chapels.

The Bradford Building Preservation Trust should be applauded for coming forward and putting up the money to prevent a miserable, undignified demise.

Particular mention should also be made of Ilkley parish councillor Lexa Robinson who brought the chapels to public notice and argued very strongly that they should be restored.

Planning rows are all too common today (we know only too well in Ilkley) with developers wanting to make what they can - and historical considerations not always being too high on their list of priorities.

Preservation is fine but restoration is also a key word. Having two chapels to appreciate is fine but two chapels for community use would be even better.

Any move to create offices would not really be appreciated but the prospect of another museum or art gallery would be an appropriate use.

Ilkley has a rich history and every attempt should be made to preserve this history for future generations.

The chapels are put forward as an appropriate case for restoration because they do not presently have any economic use.

The Trust rightly points out that many cemetery buildings and monuments no longer have anyone to look after them. It is this type of historic building at risk which creates the most problems. These buildings either have no market value or have a market value less than the cost of repair. This is a situation where organisations such the Trust can step in.

Let us hope the Trust is able to provide Ilkley with two buildings which will still be going strong well into the next century.

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