Ilkley news

The Mayor of West Yorkshire has announced that bus travel across the county will be free on Sunday 5th June to mark the end of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Ilkley Town Council welcomes everybody to two events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen on Sunday 5th June.

Local fundraiser Antony Butcher recently completed the first leg of his solo bike ride across the United States, arriving in Chicago on Friday the 20th May.

The former CEO of the Care Quality Commission has been appointed to lead the trust taking over Children’s Services across the Bradford district.

Printed copies of three Ilkley Tree Trails are now available again throughout the town thanks to the support of Ilkley BID.

Ilkley's Town Mayor Cllr Mark Stidworthy and Deputy Cllr Mayor Ros Brown were re-elected on Monday at the town council's annual meeting, a statutory meeting at which the Council formally approves its Committees, Policies and Procedures for the year ahead.

At the Annual Meeting of the Keighley Town Council Thursday evening members elected a new Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor for the year ahead.

A musical to lift spirits opens next month at Ilkley Playhouse, Caroline Mutton reviews that and other forthcoming events.

Ilkley district councillors have called for Bradford Council to take proactive action after travellers took advantage of a broken barrier to set up camp in Ilkley at Ilkley Lido and swimming Pool.

Former Yorkshire and England bowler, Ryan Sidebottom, will formally open Olicanian Cricket Club’s new pavilion on Sunday, May 22.

Dementia Friendly Ilkley Action are holding events this week as part of Dementia Action Week.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore wants Keighley and Ilkley to be part of a Government scheme to tackle illegally-modified vehicles and help make local streets quieter.

A race night held in aid of Ukraine was a great success. The event was held on Sunday, 15 May, upstairs at the Flying Duck in Ilkley with guests enjoying an evening of racing as well as a pizza supper and cream scones.

The Ilkley Trail Race makes a welcome return after a three-year absence over the Platinum Jubilee weekend on Bank Holiday Friday 3 June.

The Leader of Bradford Council has called for Northern to reinstate rail services on the Airedale and Wharfedale lines as soon as possible after cuts introduced this week.

Registration for the Ilkley Grammar School PTA Ilkley Colour Rush on Sunday 26 June is now open.

Officers have been made aware of a number of thefts that have occurred at IIkley Cemetery over the past week.

With less than a month to go until the Jubilee Spinathon, The Clarke Foley Community Centre in Ilkley is delighted to announce that getting the event underway will be husband and wife Bob and Shelia Prosser.

People in Ilkley have voted with a resounding 'yes' in favour of the adoption of the Ilkley Neighbourhood Plan.

A £2 per journey cap on bus fares and a £25m fund to improve services in areas hit by recent bus cots have been announced today.

Ilkley's Olicanian Cricket Club will throw open the doors of its new clubhouse when the building is officially opened on Sunday, May 22.

The family of Smokie founding member Terry Uttley have made a donation of more than £2,500 to Airedale Hospital following collections in memory of the musician and his wife.

The Wharfedale District Scout and Explorer Scout Sam Ives Torch Race took place again last Friday after a three-year gap.

Celebrities and authors have come together to doodled, drawn or paint bookmarks for the 1st Burley Brownies bookmark project which is in its sixth year.

The development of a new home on the outskirts of Ilkley has been refused as it would have a “harmful impact” on a neighbouring woodland.

Outline planning has been submitted for a new bridge adjacent to the existing Denton Bridge between the A65 Coutances Way and Denton Road.

Celebrating the life and music of the legendary Matt Monro, The Matt Monro Story, performed by Matt Monro Junior, is an inspired and unforgettable show.

Bradford Council is putting a call out to all stitchers and crafters to help them to decorate the district for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next month.

Local elections for Bradford Council and the new North Yorkshire Council were held on Thursday 5th May 2022, as well votes to select some town and parish councillors.

Labour has tightened its grip on Bradford Council in this week’s local elections, while the Green Party doubled the number of councillors it has in the district.

Ilkley's Pat's Party team have returned from their trip to refugee centres in Eastern Poland where they sought to bring humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian refugees there, and to those suffering untold hardship within their own country.

Ilkley has become one of the first towns in the county to have its own digital and physical gift card.

Ilkley Literature Festival is delighted to announce Dylan Thomas Prize winner Kayo Chingonyi as the 2022 Poet in Residence and offers opportunities for emerging poets.

Local group Ilkley Tools for Africa is appealing for new premises or may have to stop the operation.

Residents across Keighley and Ilkley will be voting elect district councillors this week - and we've got the election pitches from the main parties.

The day before Ilkley Carnival once again saw 100 children and families from the LS29 and AWARE support groups enjoy two hours of free rides.

In the biggest post pandemic event to be held in Ilkley, record crowds turned out to support Ilkley Carnival on May Day.

Children with disabilities are being given a helping hand to explore Nell Bank outdoor education centre, thanks to the delivery of a new, fully electric and wheelchair accessible vehicle.

The multi-award winning Ilkley Triathlon takes place this year on Sunday 25 September at Ilkley Lido.

ISSUE (Ilkley and Surrounds Support Ukrainian Evacuees) are holding a meeting for hosts/sponsors, on Thursday May 5th at Ilkley Moor Vaults, 6.30 -7.30pm.

An Ilkley law firm is supporting a grand concert in Ilkley by sponsoring the musical director, Jennifer Sterling of the Ilkley and Otley Choral Society.

Five hundred Scouts & Leaders attended The Annual Scout St George’s Day Parade & Celebration held this year for the first time since 2019.

Ilkley-born TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh is encouraging people to create a 'Pit Stop for Pollinators' this spring, providing butterflies and moths with the plants they need for survival.

Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to Ilkley on Bank Holiday Monday (2nd May) for the return of the town’s historic carnival.

Following the new playground re-opening on Friday 8th April with phase 1 work now complete, Ilkley Town Council have announced a significant donation towards the phase 2 development work.

The new Petanque terrain (or court) was officially opened by Ilkley Town Mayor, Mark Stidworthy on Saturday, 23 April, ably assisted by Ilkley town crier, Isabel Ashman.

Bard in the Yard will be back in August and Ilkley Playhouse will hold open auditions next week.

The Platinum Jubilee celebrates 70 years of Her Majesty the Queen’s reign and to mark this occasion Bradford Council is offering small grants, of up to £250.

The Ilkley Clean River Group (ICRG) held an Earth Day and Water Action Day event in town on Saturday which had great support.

A man from Ilkley has raised over £5,000 for Manorlands Hospice after pulling on his walking shoes to complete the full length of the Dales Way in just three days.

Ilkley's set to be Yorkshire’s number one tennis and social destination (as well as the Sunday Times Best Place to Live) thanks to the Ilkley Trophy grass court tennis tournament this summer.

A scheme to train police to prevent people drowning in the area's rivers has proved so popular it may soon be extended to council staff.

Following the closure of its branch on Brook Street in Ilkley, Barclays Bank staff are now available to support customers two days a week at The Clarke Foley Centre.

An order that makes it easier for police and council wardens in the Keighley and Ilkley areas to crack down on nuisance drivers has been extended for another three years.

Fares for Hackney Carriage journeys in the Bradford district will soon rise for a second time in six months due to spiralling fuel costs.

There has been a decline in the number of arson incidents West Yorkshire Fire Service is called out to in the past year.

With a busy few months ahead, Caroline Mutton takes a look at upcoming events and productions at Ilkley Playhouse.

Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice is again running the popular zip wire ride over Ilkley Moor to raise money for the charity.

Ever fancied learning traditional Maypole dancing? Now you can and all in the beautiful setting of the Manor House courtyard.

Ben Rhydding Primary School enlisted the help of Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore to plant a tree in the school grounds.

Robbie Moore has secured a meeting with rail company Northern following the announcement that the frequency of some local train services will be cut from next month.

Bradford Council workers have been upgrading and repairing public paths, parks and greenspaces across the Bradford district which experienced higher levels of use over the Covid lockdown.

Michael Murry (known as Minty) recently raised £825 for Airedale Hospital and Community Charity by doing a sponsored head and beard shave.

Ilkley resident Antony Butcher is preparing for an adventure of a lifetime as he cycles from New York to San Francisco in aid of The MS Society.

A new exhibition - Current Practice - opens on Saturday 23rd April in the Solar Gallery at Ilkley's Manor House and showcases the artists' most up to date work.

Ilkley Clean River Group is holding a joint Ilkley Water Quality Summit and Earth Day Celebration Street Party this Saturday, 23 April.

Plans by Burley Trojans football club to build a new sports pavilion have been approved by Bradford Council.

Organisers of Ilkley’s Pat’s Party are heading off to Poland in an effort to provide essential support to Ukrainian refugees and people still stranded inside the war zone.

Following the success of the outdoor Makers’ Fair last year the Manor House is holding another Spring Makers’ Fair in May.

After two full seasons playing out of temporary units, the new Olicanian Cricket Club pavilion hosts its first match on Saturday.

Ilkley Carnival will be donating 50% of any profits raised from this year’s event to the charity The Friends of Ilkley Moor. Money raised will assist in their continuing efforts to restore the peatlands of this precious local resource.

The organisers of the Ilkley Litter Picker of the Year Awards are planning to approach councils in Otley and Skipton following the success of the inaugural event.

The Ilkley district is showing its support for those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has used a parliamentary debate to call for a ban on the use of disposable barbeques in public places where fire risk prevails, citing the damage they can cause through fires on local spaces such as Ilkley Moor.

Junior Cricket sessions start later this month at Ilkley Cricket Club (ICC).

An empty Ilkley store will be converted into a gin lounge and hotel after new plans were approved.

Six local business and industry representatives have been appointed as new Deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire.

Bradford Council has launched an exemption programme to help Bradford householders, businesses and organisations adjust to the Clean Air Zone which is due to launch soon.

Ilkley Choral Society is running a free singing workshop on Saturday 7th May and concert on Saturday 21st May.

The full list of candidates who will fight to take our area's Bradford Council seats next month has been announced.

Ilkley has come top in this year's Best Places to Live guide, being published by The Sunday Times this weekend.

To celebrate the Queen’s platinum Jubilee in June, the Clarke Foley Community Centre in Ilkley will be running a Spinathon fundraising event.

A new list of high earning council employees has revealed the huge salaries of Bradford Council bosses.

The three winners of the first ever Ilkley Litter Picker Of The Year Awards will be named at a ceremony at the Cow and Calf Rocks car park on Sunday, April 10.

Ilkley Civic Society has announced the return of its Design & Conservation Awards after a break of 2 years on Thursday 24 March to local businesses, organisations & individuals.

The playground in Ilkley's Riverside Park is scheduled to re-open from Friday in time for the Easter school holidays.

Lishman’s Butchers & Charcutiers in Ilkley has unveiled its brand-new ‘joint’ – a total shop refurbishment designed to modernise the Leeds Road premises and showcase the traditional craftsmanship of their butchers.

Crowds will be treated to a spectacular stunt display from the main act booked for this years Ilkley Carnival on Monday 2 May.

Ilkley's Simon Thomas and friend Darren Hirst have completed their 130-mile cycling challenge from Sheffield to the Lake District via Haworth and Skipton.

Ilkley & District u3a held a successful Drop-in at the Hub in Addingham last Friday, 1 April. There was so much interest that at one point the room was full with standing room only.

Health club Anytime Fitness Ilkley has an exciting addition to its team with Richard Lovatt being appointed as fitness membership lead.

Artwork is popping up in Ilkley and Keighley town centres as part of Bradford Council’s Spring Back 2022 campaign.

Ilkley-based, The Kindr Company, has been named one of the most exciting new businesses in the region after being shortlisted as part of a brand new awards programme.

Applications are now open for Ilkley Literature Festival’s Summer Fringe taking place this July and August 2022.

The Friends of Wharfedale Greenway (FOWG) held an online public meeting this week to launch the group’s website and membership scheme. FOWG support the vision of creating a long traffic free Greenway corridor that will be perfect for getting active.

A Yorkshire Water investigation into possible misconnections of wastewater into the surface water network in Ilkley and Addingham, which impacts water quality in the river Wharfe, is already bringing success.

New safety measures could be put in place to prevent people jumping into the River Wharfe from the suspension (swing) bridge on Denton Road, Ilkley.

A free photography exhibition called Ilkley Camera Club Unlocked opened on Saturday at Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley and runs until August 28. 

Down at the River Wharfe the ducks are assembling for another spectacular race as part of the Ilkley Carnival programme of events to be held on Monday 2 May.

The latest events as part of the Bradford Council’s Spring Back 2022 campaign campaign to encourage people to rediscover their local high streets included Keighley’s K-Town Shopper event and the Ilkley Family Takeover Day.

This Saturday, 2 April, everyone is welcome at All Saints’ Church in Ilkley for a free family event between 11am –1pm to celebrate the official launch of the Discover Ilkley app.

Ilkley businessman Simon Thomas and his friend Darren Hirst are hoping to raise £3,000 for Skipton-based The Principle Trust Children's Charity with a bike ride from Sheffield to Windermere this week.

Bradford Council is now forecasting it will spend £3.2m more than it budgeted to in the financial year ending 31st March 2022 - rather than the previously projected figure of £5.5m.

The Ilkley Bandstand 2000 Trust have announced the line-up of events booked for the Ilkley Bandstand on The Grove so far for spring and summer 2022.

Residents of West Yorkshire have ten weeks to have their say on the future of the region’s fire service, following the launch of a public consultation today.

Calling All Talent! Ilkley Pride & Diversity is to hold its first event at The Kings Hall and Winter Garden on Saturday 2 July and performers are needed.

A boss from train operator Northern has assured passengers that a reduction in services on the Airedale and Wharfedale lines will only be temporary.

A referendum will be held on Thursday 5th May to decide whether Bradford Council should adopt the Neighbourhood Plan for Ilkley.

An order that makes lighting barbecues on local moorlands illegal could be extended for another three years.

Yorkshire Water is holding a public meeting in Ilkley to provide further detail on timescales for its £13m investment in infrastructure upstream of the designated bathing water in the town.

Lovers of retro from across Yorkshire and beyond will flock to town on Saturday 9th April, as Ilkley Playhouse hosts its twelfth Ilkley Vintage Fair.

The streets of Ilkley town centre are set to come alive this weekend with family friendly activities and performances at the Ilkley Family Takeover event part of Spring Back 2022.

Ilkley Grammar School’s Parent Teachers Association (PTA) is running Ilkley’s first ever Colour Rush on 26th June this year as a major fundraising event.

Ilkley Town Council will hold its Annual Town Meeting, hosted by the Town Mayor, Councillor Mark Stidworthy, on Tuesday 29 March, 2022, at 7pm in the Clarke Foley Centre on Cunliffe Road.

In April local fundraiser Antony Butcher, who lives in Ilkley, will be setting off on the adventure of a lifetime - a solo bike ride from New York to San Francisco. Originally planned for 2020, Antony is now in the final stages of preparing for the ride.

Northern have announced time table changes which will see a reduction in Bradford Forster Square train services in May.

Celebrating businesses within LS29, the winners of the Ilkley Business Awards 2022 were announced at the awards ceremony which took place at The Craiglands Hotel, Ilkley on Friday 18 March 2022.

Keighley and Ilkley residents are being asked what they think is the best way to commemorate local residents who have died from Covid.

A handful of local play areas will get much needed upgrades in the next stage of a multi million scheme to boost facilities.

Bradford Council’s partnership project to reduce flooding coming from Ilkley Moor has now turned to moorland footpaths.

West Yorkshire Police are appealing for any information after a man exposed himself to a runner on the A65 between Ilkley and Burley-in-Wharfedale on Wednesday evening.

Ilkley Town Council is inviting residents to save the date for a Civic Service to enable residents in the town to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.

The first event of the newly formed Ilkley Pride & Diversity group will be at the King’s Hall and Winter Garden on Saturday 2 July, thanks to funding from Ilkley Town Council.

Take on the challenge and descend 70ft down the iconic Cow and Calf rocks on Ilkley Moor to help transform the lives of people with Parkinson's.

A campaign is being launched to tackle isolation among local young carers, as part of Young Carers Action Day, taking place this week.

A man from Keighley and a man from Shipley have appeared in front of magistrates, following an attempted burglary at a property in Menston this week.

Ilkley Town Council resolved this week to support plans drawn up by Bradford MDC for 20mph speed limits in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding.

As part of its campaign to deliver a brighter future for Ilkley by helping businesses to flourish, Ilkley BID is planning to launch a bespoke llkley Gift Card.

The inaugural Ilkley Litter Picker of the Year Awards have been launched to celebrate an unsung army of people who help keep the town and its surrounding areas tidy and litter-free.

Network Rail has completed work to make Burley-in-Wharfedale station more accessible, improving safety and allowing more people to travel independently.

Bradford Council has received funding from the government to put more EV chargers on council-owned land - including in Silsden, Steeton, Addingham and Haworth.

After a two year Covid enforced break, Two Rivers Swing Band are delighted to be back at last with one of their popular dances in the sparkling setting of Ilkley's Winter Garden on Saturday 2nd April.

Over the coming months, the Grove Bookshop in Ilkley is excited to be hosting a number of author events.

Carers who look after loved ones across Bradford and Craven are being asked to take part in a study to discover the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ukraine crisis was discussed at the monthly Ilkley Community Network meeting, a group which engages the Ilkley Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), local businesses and Ilkley/Bradford Councils, MP, all working together towards shared goals.

An annual fundraising festival in Ben Rhydding makes a welcome return in the summer for one last party.

A new community-based service has been launched in Ilkley to help people access physical and mental wellbeing support, that also helps reduce some of the pressures being experienced by health and care services locally.

Ilkley Clean River Group are planning an event to mark Water Quality Action Day and Earth Day on Saturday 23 April 2022.

Bradford Council is looking for community-spirited helpers to join its annual spring clean – this year the Great Bradford Clean Up.

Calling all young bookworms, Ilkley Literature Festival’s children and family book events are back this month with Story Explorer Days taking place in Ilkley and Keighley.

West Yorkshire’s Mayor has welcomed extra Government funding for bus companies, but has warned that it is still not clear what the funding will mean for local services.

During the period Ilkley Manor House was closed in order to enable essential works to be undertaken an important project took place in February.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore’s proposed parliamentary law to allow areas to form new local authorities has been rejected by the government in its current form.

Following the announcement of a new design for the playground in Ilkley’s Riverside Park, playground supplier Kompan have already begun work on phase 1 of the renovation.