Ilkley Rocks

More on the trust idea from the minutes of Bradford council (it’s a cached google version of a pdf).

Given that the management document suggests that 5K is all that is spent on the moor by Bradford (which sort of makes the management document unattainable), the notion of the trust is to allow an independent body to apply for more funding. Of course, with the very generous precept IPC organizes for itself, there is a pot of money ready and waiting to improve the environment.

Those opposed seem to be suggesting that all the moor needs is more brass, which is true. But its unlikely to be increased by Bradford. Better by far to return it to local control. Before going forwards, though, would the trust consist of the usual busybodies? Would there be elections (after all, according the the Middelton settlement, we all own the moor)? Would the people of Ilkley have a say in what happens, or would it be like everything else, and decided in the tory club and the golf club (Ilkley, not Ben Rhydding), or in the gated community on OWler Park Road?

But if one of the ideas is considered, selling off Silver Well Cottage, I know at least two people who might be very interested.

(you know you should give up blogging when you re-use post titles for the third time).

Fraser tells me there’s a meeting of the Parish COuncil to dicsuss the plan for the future management of the Moor, June 5th, 7-30. Be there or, as I shall be, be somewhere else.

The management plan is available here –

I don’t yet have an opinion, except I don’t want a trust with no pasaran in charge.

Apparently young chap Fraser is on the steam wireless tomorrow (24th May) talking about the Moor. You and Yours, 12pm. Or do I mean am. Anyway, its midday. And I daresay you can hear it on the ‘listen again’ facility at the beeb’s website.

By way of the rather lovely clickrich who I keep meaning to link to (and now have) an image of a memorial to a bomber that crashed on t’Moor during the war. I know nothing about this. Must have completely missed the story due to being over on the wrong side of the Pennines. Maverickapollo has the full story linked here. Can someone give me directions please?

The local paper has re-done its website. Which is a bit of a shock. No more massively out of date articles, no more letters from over a year ago (actually no letters at all as they haven’t uploaded those yet). Now it’s all spankingly up to date and interweb-friendly.

Course, the fact the Ilkley Gazette has increasingly little to do with Ilkley and uses more and more stories from sister papers in Yorkshire sort of undermines the project, but at least now we know why they’ve been cutting back on the paper version.