ONE of these days someone really will begin to seek an all-round solution for Ilkley's parking problems. Restricting parking to residents only does, as some pointed out this week, too often sound like a wonderful solution. But what of those who feel they have the need to park in the centre of Ilkley? And where else will they park if these town centre restrictions are brought in?

Indiscriminately slashing parking space by half with no regard to residents' own needs is wrong, few can argue with that. Those in the decision-making seat should, however, also think twice before they effectively ban non-residents from parking in the 'central zone' of Ilkley.

In these times of environmental awareness, it's laudable to seek new minibus services as an alternative for those who drive into the town centre each morning and park up so they can catch the train into Leeds or Bradford. Realistically, how many of these people will abandon the convenience of their car and be sufficiently convinced by the smooth-operating 'shuttle service' label to queue for the bus every morning?

Then there is the question of what happens to those other street parking culprits. A good number must be made up of business people who keep the centre of Ilkley alive, not to mention their combined sizeable workforce. These businesses can only keep running, too, if there is a healthy supply of shoppers coming into town. Limited-time parking for 'visitors' is of course one answer for the shoppers, although it hardly encourages them to stay and spend if they have just an hour or two to race around town for their groceries.

Finally, there are the daytrippers and tourists, who business leaders and councillors are trying so hard to encourage. The real issue is the time and money used up on commissioning surveys and glossy reports, which may have been far better spent on creating whatever the eventual solution is. It will be interesting to see if a handful of parish councillors can come up with, in just over a month, a simple answer which has thus far eluded the highly-paid consultants.