About Ilkley Parish Council

Ilkley Parish Council is based in the Parish Clerk's Office on the first floor of the Town Hall, Ilkley.

A Full Council meeting is held in the Council Chamber every month and is normally the first Monday in the month.

Ilkley Parish Council consists of four Wards with 14 Councillors:

Following the Elections because of the Parish Split in May 2006, the new Councillors will be in office for five years to bring them back in line with other councils with elections again in 2011. Elections to the parish council are normally held every 4 years, usually in conjunction with the Metropolitan District Council elections. The total number of electors is in excess of 11,500.

All Parish Council work is voluntary except for a Chairman’s allowance during the year of office.   Travel costs are paid to the Planning Committee Chairman for travel inside the Parish for site visits etc.   Expenses are paid to Councillors attending meetings etc outside the Parish boundary. 

Councillors represent the Parish on many outside bodies throughout the district. The Council supports the very many volunteers working to help the young, old and infirm in lots of different ways.

The Parish Council has a paid Parish Clerk whose office is on the 1st floor of the Town Hall, open office hours being 10.00am - 1.00pm Monday to Thursday.

The cost of running the Parish Council is met by raising a precept, this precept also budgets for the funding of local projects and awards to organisations covering pre-school to senior citizens across the parish.

There are four main standing committees of the Council, Planning, Finance, General Purposes, and Awards & Projects.

The Planning Committee meets every three weeks to examine all planning applications and related issues and then makes recommendations to the Area Planning Committee. The recommendations are with regard to planning law and the meetings afford an opportunity to add local knowledge to an application. The committee can also provide input into planning processes. Ilkley is fortunate to have a very efficient local Planning Office within Ilkley Town Hall. Affected neighbours are notified of planning applications and time allowed for any comments to be made to both the Planning Office and the Parish Council Planning Chairman. The Parish Council has an important role regarding major applications that affect many people or, perhaps a significant site in the district.

The Finance committee covers management accounts and other financial matters, particularly the annual budget and internal audit,  in depth for recommendation to Full Council.

The General Purposes committee covers community issues broadly for future recommendation to Full Council for action.

The Awards & Projects Committee currently has a budget of £45,000. It considers applications received from across the Parish.

The Parish Council provides a conduit for suggestions and complaints and the Parish Clerk may be contacted on 01943 436212 or ilkleypc@bradford.gov.uk. The Parish of Ilkley is a delightful place to live but nevertheless has its share of issues.

Fourteen volunteers and the Parish Clerk believe the community is better for their efforts - we hope the community thinks so too!