Controversial plans for car parking on one of the last green areas of central Bingley have been vetoed.

Bradford Council suggested Jubilee Gardens in front of Bingley Arts Centre as one of several possible sites for parking.

But people in the town have overwhelmingly rejected the idea in a public consultation exercise.

The Telegraph & Argus highlighted angry objections to the proposal from Bingley Civic Trust.

Now the Council, which is looking for create new car parks to replace spaces which are due to be lost in Bingley, says it is very unlikely that the Jubilee Gardens site will be pursued.

John Firby, senior engineer with the Council's transport planning unit, said alternative car parks were needed because existing spaces were to be lost because of a new residents' parking scheme in Beech Street and further spaces could go if the Bingley relief road were to be built.

Revealing the results of a survey carried out into possible sites for new car parks and other traffic management proposals, he said the Jubilee Gardens option was "clearly not in the frame".

Most people who took part in the survey favoured an expansion and upgrading of the existing Wellington Street site.

However, that and the possible Waterloo Road car park would only go ahead if the relief road was built.

Mr Firby said the first new car park which was likely to be built was one for about 50 cars on the former Woolworth's site at the north end of Main Street.

Money has been allocated for the 1998/99 financial for the car park to be built.

Mr Firby said discussions with Bradford and Bingley Building Society, which owns the land, were at an advanced stage and there was no reason why the car park should not go ahead.

Some residents have voiced concern that the entrance and exit to and from the site would be dangerous because of the volume of traffic using Main Street.

But Mr Firby said that although the Department of Transport accepted it was not an ideal situation, it was reasonably happy with the scheme.

"We are trying to respond to the desire for parking in that part of the town.''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.