West View Park was originally laid out as a formal pleasure ground in the 19th to early 20th centuries, and included a bandstand (of which no trace remains), a public toilet block (now largely demolished) and a rustic loggia, the rear wall of which survives as an extensive sloping bank, faced with local gritstone boulders.

Changing public habits and insufficient funding to maintain such structures on this site have led to the current state of partial neglect and under-utilisation of its potential as a recreational area and wildlife habitat. Bradford Metropolitan District Council, as the agency responsible for the management of West View Park, Mill Ghyll and Ilkley Moor, are currently investigating strategies to control invasive bracken and gorse.

Under these circumstances, it is believed that the revitalisation of West View Park, would be welcomed by both the general public and the Council In this context, it is understood that the virtually adjacent Mill Ghyll was originally leased to the Council subject to its being maintained as 'an arboreal area with a clear, rippling stream'; so it would seem appropriate to maintain and enhance a naturalistic, recreational environment at West View Park, as envisaged in the Darwin Gardens scheme.

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