VOLUNTEER group the Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks (FOIRP) has been busy repairing benches.

“It’s great to see our bench renewal project up and running in Riverside Parks,” said chairman of FOIRP, Ed Duguid. “Eventually we hope to see all the benches in all areas of the parks looking great and safe to sit on.”

The project is a joint one between Bradford Council parks department and FOIRP. The council has removed a number of the older benches which were suffering from disrepair and have replaced the wood on six others. They have also replaced the wood on the raised beds opposite the Riverside Hotel. “FOIRP’s part of the deal is that they will treat all the new wood with a good quality preservative wood stain that looks good,” added Ed. “We will soon start work on the other older benches that require sanding down and repainting. We are also grateful to the Riverside Hotel who is helping to fund the refurbishment works. All this is in addition to the current paths edging programme which is on-going.”

If you would like to be involved in the work of this group, which was set up in August 2018 with the aim of improving the parks beside the river in Ilkley, contact the chairman at: foirp2@gmail.com or visit the Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks Facebook page.

Path edging continues every Monday evening, and bench refurbishment (sanding and painting) on Wednesday evenings. Meet outside the Riverside Hotel at 6:30 pm.