A politician is urging residents to “save” a town from being transformed into Monte Carlo.

District councillor Anne Hawkesworth said she has just returned from a holiday in the millionaires’ paradise on the French Riviera and described it as an example of “greed” and the “excesses of planning”.

Now, she is calling on people in Ilkley to have their say on Bradford Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy to “save” the town from becoming similar to the Mediterranean resort.

The LDF recommends building 1,300 houses in Ilkley by 2028 and it is feared green land in the Wharfe Valley could be swallowed by proposals to turn as much as ten hectares of land over to employment use.

Backing plans for a public meeting to discuss the plans, Coun Hawkesworth said: “A public meeting in Ilkley on the future of Ilkley is desirable to pull together and galvanise all the assets we have in the town to be able to put forward a cogent argument.

“I’ve just come back from Monte Carlo and it’s made me more determined to save Ilkley.

“It’s an example of greed and also a great example of a lack of planning. The thing about Ilkley over very many years has been the determination to protect it from the excesses of planning."

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