Two awards totalling £6,000 have been approved by Ilkley councillors for improvements at Darwin Gardens Millennium Green and contributing to a French twinning trip.

Ilkley Parish Council’s awards and projects committee has agreed to grant £1,500 to the Ilkley-Coutances Town Twinning Committee, and £4,500 to Darwin Gardens (pictured).

The local council is the corporate trustee of Darwin Gardens, off Wells Road.

The money will find the renovation and rebuilding of railings, steps and footways at the award-winning gardens.

The parish council hopes to win a Green Flag Award for Darwin Gardens, a national standard recognising top parks and green spaces.

The council’s funding for the twinning committee will go towards this year’s four-day civic visit to Ilkley’s twin town of Coutances in Normandy.

The committee is among organisations in Ilkley working on building new links with the French town, as well as maintaining the longstanding twinning links.