IN the midst of major changes Ilkley Parish Council has been thrown into further turmoil by the resignation of the parish clerk.

In the second year of the controversial precept, all the councillors are up for re-election, making the future uncertain.

In addition, Chairman Michael Gibbons is to step down after two years in the role, and in a surprise move which dashed hopes of a smooth takeover, vice-chairman Heathcliffe Bowen announced recently that he would not become next year's chairman.

Councillor Kate Brown will fulfil that role but she will preside over a much altered body when it holds its first meeting following the elections.

Now the one continuous bureaucratic strand in the parish council's existence is also about to be broken.

Miggy Bailey will take up her new post with Keighley Town Council in May. Ilkley parish councillors will have to move fast to appoint a successor. One thing is certain. It will not be an easy job to replace an experienced clerk who has been in the job for so many years.

The parish council is in danger of losing its way following the May elections and there will be those at City Hall who will no doubt be amused at its predicament.

Now, probably more than at any other time in its almost three decades of existence, Ilkley Parish Council needs to assert itself strongly and take bold steps to ensure its future survival.

With the loss of those councillors who are standing down in May and the departure of its long-standing clerk, we need to ensure that the town's representative body does not descend from turmoil into chaos.