INGLETON is to receive £110,000 from Craven District Council in an attempt to make it more appealing to visitors.

The money will be used towards several visitor improvement projects in the village, such as the refurbishment of the Market Square and the community centre car park.

Also planned are changes to the car parks and the introduction of short-term parking for shoppers.

Officers, working with ward and parish councillors, businesses and residents, have come up with a regeneration action plan.

The council will also help Ingleton bid for money to carry out additional projects, such as the development of the riverside park and heritage trail.

The council is now planning to move on to Bentham and Cross Hills, where it will look at similar projects to be funded from its New Homes Bonus Infrastructure Reserve.

Ingleton's action plan concentrates on increasing the appeal of the centre, improving traffic flow, helping to develop businesses and improving the shopping experience, as well as marketing and promotion.

Cllr Simon Myers (Cons, Gargrave), the council's lead member on regeneration projects, said officers had carried out a lot of work with the Ingleton Village Team in an attempt to see what could be done to help to increase footfall for businesses and the take-up of vacant shops.

He said it was planned that £45,000 be spent on the refurbishment of the Market Square and for plans to be prepared for a shopfront improvement scheme.

There will also be changes to the community centre car park after traders perceived it was not serving the community as well as it could.

And, most significantly, would be the introduction of a 45-minute 'pop and shop' charge of 20p, which had proved to be very successful in Skipton.

"The best thing we can do is remind people what a marvellous place Ingleton is to visit. It is an exciting opportunity for it to build on the remarkable potential it has," he said.

Cllr Carl Lis said it had been a great achievement to get everyone together.

"Ingleton has been through a bit of a rough time, but the potential there is immense," he added.