THERE must be an acceptable way to render Ilkley businesses safe from ram raiders and other thieves without making the premises an eyesore or costing the earth.

It cannot be fair to limit the protective measures shopkeepers are allowed to take without giving them some help to meet the heavy burden of costs.

If businesses are prepared to invest in shutters to guard their stock the least planners and Civic Society members could do is suggest practical alternatives when they invoke Conservation Area regulations to have them removed.

No-one wants to see Ilkley turned into a barred and shuttered prison camp with buildings wrapped up in razor wire but at the same time small business should be encouraged to thrive without the worry of los-ing their stock every weekend.

Ilkley MP Ann Cryer is hoping to bring the police, shop owners, planners and other interested bodies together to work out a solution to the problem.

In some cases it may be a way forward to suggest that blanket bans on certain shop front furniture is not practical or logical.

Shutters might be appropriate in one location if they are well maintained and decorated while less obtrusive security measures might be deemed fitting somewhere else. The trouble with blanket regulations is that they do not allow for individual circumstances.

The worst case scenario is for Ilkley shops to start closing down because the cost or the trouble to pro-tect them for thieves is too much to bear.

Hopefully, the bodies and individuals involved can work out a solution so we can look forward to a future where common sense prevails.