Probe demanded as hated Otley river fence plan is approved

12:34pm Thursday 14th June 2007

By Jim Jack

CAMPAIGNERS are demanding a formal investigation after Leeds City Council yesterday approved a massively unpopular scheme to fence off' part of Otley's riverside.

The authority decided to press ahead with a safety scheme for Wharfemeadows Park, Tittybottle Park and Manor Garth Park that looks little different from the one that spurred more than 6,100 people to sign a petition opposing it.

The work will see one metre high, bow topped fencing going up along most of the park's riverside - including at the playground and by the weir - although the river steps will be repaired and remain open.

Another open stretch, with increased riverside vegetation, will run from the access path from Farnley Lane to the white bridge.

The city council, fearful of the legal consequences should anyone drown at the site, insists it has had to introduce stringent safety measures.

But Wharfemeadows Action Group (WAG) is accusing the authority of reneging on its promise not to implement a scheme until full consultation had been carried out.

And responding to the decision, WAG members Linda Lukats, Sylvia Reid and Tony Hartigan say they are not prepared to let the matter lie.

They said: "We will continue to explore what has gone wrong with the city council's decision-making processes and have asked its own scrutiny board to conduct a formal review.

"We will be seeking the assistance of the Local Government Ombudsman and will also be submitting a formal complaint to RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).

"The city council finally agreed (with great reluctance) to carry out full and proper consultation' but went back on their word just four days into the consultation period by instructing officers to construct some fencing immediately.

"They managed a public relations disaster in the public meeting organised' in Otley on May 10. Many people left in disgust.

"The last-minute public display' of revised plans last weekend was a disgraceful token effort which the vast majority of residents and businesses did not know about.

"The city council has ignored the 6,136 signatures on the petition against the fencing off of the river and has treated the people of Otley with contempt."

The whole question of safety beside the River Wharfe arose following RoSPA recommendations made after an inquest into the deaths of two boys in Roundhay Park's lake last year.

But WAG challenged the RoSPA report and the council's interpretation of its legal implications.

Greg Mulholland MP said: "It is a disgrace that a decision has been forced through against the wishes of the people of Otley and all of their elected representatives.

"There has been no meaningful consultation and the whole process has been exceptionally badly handled by Leeds City Council.

"Alternatives were never properly considered and it is clear that the Council officers and lawyers forced the decision through, and were unwilling to listen reason and common sense.

"I shall be complaining about this fiasco. It is a sad day for local democracy."

In the report presented to the executive board yesterday, however, officers said the plan - involving fencing off the park perimeter and using access gates - was considered and ruled out at a risk assessment meeting.

And it claimed the proposal "could not possibly reduce the trip hazard along the wall's edge or the hazard adjacent to the weir areathese areas would continue to be a hazard."

Officers go on to acknowledge that feedback from questionnaires handed out in May (142 people responded) showed "little or no support for fencing, signage and dense vegetation in certain areas.

"However, officers are firmly of the view that to do nothing is not an optionand the recommendations must be put in place to ameliorate the risk."

They also say several parts of the scheme have been changed in response to concerns. They include: