ILKLEY CARNIVAL – ROAD CLOSURES

On Monday 5th May 2025 there will be road closures in place on various roads in Ilkley as part of the annual Ilkley Carnival.  This will affect two main areas – the route of the parade and Denton Road.

Parade route (red on plan)

The parade consists of over 1,000 local children and starts on Grove Road, travelling along The Grove, Brook Street, crossing over Leeds Road, down New Brook Street, before turning right onto Denton Road and into East Holmes Field (Carnival Showfield).  The parade starts at 11am but participants will start assembling from 10am on Grove Road, the front of the parade should reach the Carnival Showground around 11.45am.

Grove Road will be closed to all but parade entrants vehicles ‘dropping off’ from 9am and closed to all vehicles from 10am. It will remain closed until the parade has safely left the area.

In addition to the roads directly affected it will also impact on those roads leading onto the parade route, so for example all side roads on Grove Road between The Grove and Victoria Avenue and all roads leading off The Grove and Brook Street.  The biggest impact will obviously be for the period of time all traffic is halted on the A65 Leeds Road.  It is likely the closure will only be for 20-30 minutes but this will naturally create a tailback of traffic.

New Brook Street will be closed before 11am for the parade and crowds to make their way down to East Holmes Field and will only reopen once it is safe to.

The advice to all motorists and cyclists is to avoid the area of the parade route, particularly between 10.30am and 12 noon.

Denton Road (pink on plan)

There is an official road closure order in place from Bradford MDC for the section of Denton Road between Middleton Avenue and Carter’s Lane (as shown on the plan) on Carnival Day and we will open the road as soon as it is safe to do so.

This means this section of Denton Road will be closed to all motor vehicles and cyclists between the hours of 6.30am – 6.30pm on Monday 5th May 2025. There will be no access along this part of Denton Road for cyclists at this time.

Pedestrians will still be able to access Middleton Woods and the pedestrian bridge across the river if travelling along Denton Road from an easterly direction (from the iron bridge at Ben Rhydding).

A diversion for vehicles and cyclists (not wishing to dismount) will be in place via Carter’s Lane, Curley Hill and Middleton Avenue.

Please note: During the parade and crowd arrival (approx. 11.30am to 12.30pm) Denton Road may be impassable to all, so if not attending the Carnival please use the diversion route or avoid these times.

If you have any other questions about Ilkley Carnival please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.