Otley Town Council demands control of all its parks (From Wharfedale Observer)

Otley Town Council demands control of all its parks

9:04am Thursday 31st May 2007

• Print
• Email
• Share

OTLEY Town Council has succeeded in securing an 11th hour meeting with Leeds leader Mark Harris before a crucial decision is taken on a riverside safety fence'.

And at today's meeting at the Civic Centre Otley leader Councillor Jim Spencer will formally request that control of Otley's parks and countryside be handed over to the town.

Joined by fellow town and ward councillors and Wharfe-meadows Action Group (WAG) representatives, he will also ask Councillor Harris to postpone any ruling on the proposed river fencing for Wharfemeadows Park until Leeds City Council's (LCC) July executive board meeting.

Leeds is currently due to decide on what safety measures should proceed there - and has already resolved to install fencing by the weir and play area on Wednesday, June 13.

But in the letter to Coun Harris which secured today's meeting, Coun Spencer said: "I believe it is essential LCC gets the consensus of the community before making decisions, let alone implementing them.

"It is understood fencing has already been put out to tender for sections of the park but though there was general agreement to some fencing next to the weir and children's play area.

"Even on this there has been no consultation with the community about height, design, and so on.

"Since community feelings are running so high it may be that a further public meeting might not be the best next step.

"Further, it is vital that the city does not actually put up any fencing until the consultation period is over.

"Accordingly, it is suggested that it may be advantageous to have a meeting with you, WAG, the local MP, three ward councillors and representatives from this council to explore the way forward, which can then be presented as solutions for real consultation."

Turning to the issue of the park's ownership, Coun Spencer adds: "I was about to come to the city to ask for devolution of powers anyway so, as Councillor Procter has raised the issue in the press, I am ready to present the proposal that the town council takes ownership of the parks and countryside in Otley.

"It would be all of the department in Otley, not simply the poisoned chalice of the waterway.

"But I believe we could negotiate a management deal whereby the town has ownership and management responsibility but the staff remain the city's and we have regular reviews of the town's management performance to ensure the standard of service is maintained."

WAG has welcomed the new meeting, although it has also written to Leeds to say that trust and confidence in the local authority is at rock-bottom due to what WAG member Sylvia Reid described had been a "mishandling of the whole issue."

Fellow WAG member Tony Hartigan said: "It is important the elected members of both the city and town councils work together to resolve this.

"The extent to which Otley may take on responsibility for the management of its own parks is also a matter for the respective councils.

"WAG will continue to support the consultative and democratic process even if the city council has shown scant regard for it."

Around 100 (anonymous) written consultation responses on the revised' plans for Wharfemeadows Park have been handed in to WAG by residents, to be forwarded on to LCC.

WAG says more than 84 per cent of the respondents were in favour of installing "well-designed and appropriate signage" in the park, while more than 87 per cent were against fencing off the river from Otley Bridge to beyond the steps.

Councillor Harris said: "I offered to come to a public meeting in my capacity as leader of the council but it would seem they would prefer a private meeting, so I will be meeting to talk through the situation.

"The only decision we've taken so far is to fence the weir and play area, and that has to happen. No decision's been made on the rest of it and that's what we'll talk about.

"We will discuss devolution of the park but I don't think it has legs. It's fraught with difficulty, if we did it for Otley we'd have to do it for the rest of the city.

"The legal advice I've been given is that it would be seen as us passing the buck down to Otley town council and in those circumstances, were there an accident, the courts would take an even dimmer view and the responsibility would come back to me or whoever's in my position.

"The responsibility has fallen on us and we must find a solution that satisfies everybody."

• Print
• Email
• Share