Bradford & District | Archive | 2004 | April | 08
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Thursday 8th Apr 2004.
A RADICAL new trust scheme could put Ilkley Moor back into the hands of the local community.
Initial studies have already been set in motion to examine how a trust or a local management body could take over the historic moor - and hopefully gain more cash to pump into the area.
Ilkley ward councillor and Bradford environment chief, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Con) says it is her dream to see the moor put into the care of a management trust or similar body, effectively giving a sense of ownership back to Ilkley residents.
But that dream could already be closer to reality as Bradford Council countryside officers and legal department look into the feasibility of such a scheme.
A trust or management body would also be able to access money - such as European Union funding - which is inaccessible to a local authority like Bradford Council. Similar management arrangements exist in other parts of the country, including the New Forest and the Malvern Hills near Worcester, where the Malvern Hills Conservators body has various powers over land in the area.
And Coun Hawkesworth is chairman of the Standing Conference of Southern Pennine Authorities (SCOSPA), a rural regeneration body charged with conserving open spaces in the region and protecting its cultural heritage.
"It is completely feasible for the moor to be in trust," said Coun Hawkesworth. "The expectation would be that moor management would still be given by Bradford Council, but there would be management from what I call the conservators of Ilkley Moor. It is practical."
A local ownership body could not only watch over and have a say in the conservation of the moorland countryside and rights of way, but also the renowned Neolithic remains and historic properties in the area.
Coun Hawkesworth initiated a petition from Ilkley people to have the Victorian bath-house on the edge of the moor placed under Trust - which would prioritise essential work on the building's facilities. The petition is currently in the hands of Bradford Council. Local organisations, including Ilkley Parish Council, have been pressing for local management of White Wells, and want to see its facilities, particularly the toilets, restored.
Parish councillor Mike Gibbons this week highlighted the problem of the `ever-deteriorating' community asset, saying how embarrassing it was to see the building in such a state in one of the most attractive parts of the country, in one of the most expensive areas for houses.
Coun Hawkesworth stressed local management of Ilkley Moor would not mean a return to the days of the Ilkley Urban District Council, but local people with professional skills would be required for the management body. Her hope is that ward councillors and parish councillors would also be represented on the body.
"It would have benefits for the moor. We'd hopefully have more resources," said Coun Hawkesworth. "As for the area, I think people are already in love with the moors, they already have an affinity with them, but I think this would give them much more without going back to 1974. It gives an ownership."
She said Bradford Council's legal department was currently looking into the idea.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008