Cafe owner’s new £500,000 proposal for Cow and Calf Rocks landmark goes on public view

And the proposals for a privately-owned cafe and visitor centre on Hangingstone Road could bring much-needed public toilet facilities for Ilkley Moor and a community function room.

Those behind the plan are also proposing to power the two-storey building with an underground hydro-electric turbine, which could be viewed by schoolchildren for educational purposes.

The planning application was submitted to Bradford Council by local cafe owner Toni Falconi, and is now open to public viewing and consultation. The centre is proposed on the site of a former water works building.

As well as seeking planning permission from the council, the scheme will need the go-ahead from the Secretary of State for the Environment to build on common land.

The moorside plot falls within the Green Belt, and is affected by legislation covering Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Two plans for the centre were drawn up in recent years, but the district council handed the last scheme back to the applicant, requesting more detailed information.

Mr Falconi hopes the latest plan will get the backing of the council and the Secretary of State.

“We’ve been working on this project for three to four years and we’re looking forward to going ahead and having it up and running as soon as possible,” he said. “I know it has got to go to the Secretary of State, but we are on the right road.”

Mr Falconi has run a cafe in a kiosk close to the landmark for more than 18 years, working with his wife, Doreen, who died earlier this year.

The new centre has been designed by architect Richard Addenbrook, from Sense Of Space, in Ilkley He said the two-storey centre had been designed to frame the view of the rocks, and had environmentally-friendly features.

“We’ve had numerous meetings and discussions with the council and it was felt that it would be useful to provide extra facilities for the public,” he said.