CONSULTANTS charged with deciding how to spend £300,000 on traffic improvements in Ilkley have organised two events to let residents have their say.

After securing Government grants for town centre improvements in Ilkley, highway bosses have engaged Leeds-based consultants Oscar Faber to carry out an in-depth study of what needs doing.

In a bid to find out what residents really want the company has organised an open day at the Clarke Foley Centre on Cunliffe Road, Ilkley, on April 28. The event will last all day and will allow residents to drop in and consider the options without having to attend a formal meeting.

Project manager Jonathan Spruce said the event would feature a large map of Ilkley and small cards allowing people to write down what they thought the traffic problems were.

Mr Spruce said: "Everyone can come along and people will be invited to write on the cards and place them on the map where they think improvements can be made."

Three or four representatives from Oscar Faber will be on hand for people to sound off about their chief concerns.

"We want people to come along and have their say as to what they feel are the key issues," said Mr Spruce.

The company has also ordered a marquee for Ilkley Carnival on May 7 to repeat the exercise. Mr Spruce believes that this will enable more Ilkley people to have an input and the views of visitors to the town will also be taken into account.

"We are doing it twice to catch people who aren't there the first time and at the carnival we may pick up some visitors as well," Mr Spruce said.

He added: "By the middle of May we will have a definitive list of problems and issues. We want to find out what people think; then we can start to move forward."

The funding for the transport improvement schemes starts to come on stream from this month and it is estimated there will be £300,000 to spend in the next two years.

The money is coming from a grant from central government which will be administered by Bradford Council.