Letter: 'It's Groundhog Day at Otley Town Council'

You have to go back many years to look at just why the East of Otley plan came into being. Otley had a number of businesses which used or ran heavy goods vehicles, mainly Wm Sinclair and Sons, Garnett’s Paperwork’s, Jefferies Transport, Marston’s Transport, Tate Fuel Oils etc. Add to this the quarry wagons from Greenhow Quarries, and service vehicles to the shops/supermarkets, and both the local transport and the through transport and Otley often was gridlocked and suffered from extensive exhaust fumes. The simple answer was to put in a bypass. Unfortunately, the part bypass that was put in place only covered part of the route east to west. To complete even the east to west route it was decided to add a link road from Pool Road to Leeds Road. There was never any North /South route, as Otley only had one bridge.

Move on 50 years, now look at the situation today. Garnett’s Paperwork’s has closed, Marston’s Transport and Jefferies have both also closed or moved out. Wm Sinclair and Sons use Bremner Works and a smaller lorry into their North Street works. Tate Fuel Oils still use a central site. We cannot stop North/South movements unless there is a weight limit on the bridge over the Wharfe at Otley, or some way of forcing the heavy quarry wagons to use the recommended route via Skipton, Ilkley and Otley. Again, we cannot stop shop and supermarket transport or through traffic, and internal movements, etc. What we do know is that by 2030 there should be no fumes from diesel or petrol vehicles, if you believe what we are told. Even last weeks Wharfdale Newspaper reported on Otley having a clean bill of health in a survey in the town.

To pay for the bypass up to 880 houses were to be built, but then the figure fell to 550, now no one seems to know what the figure is , but Leeds City Council and Persimmon Housing, fearing a shortfall of cash from the housing being planned, bought land east of Moor Drive for further development. The government then decided to pay the cost of the by-pass, but by all accounts, this money Leeds are insisting is paid back to them from the developer, to be spent on housing in Leeds. Lisker Drive School is supposed to be moving to a new site, east of Otley and the old school on Lisker Drive closing. Will that become housing?

There was talk only a few years ago about putting the railway in on the old track east of Otley, and putting in the by-pass, also talk of putting in bridle paths, putting in cycle paths and footpaths to the same standard as the Dutch do in Holland (the Town Council paid a firm to come up with the information). There is a site for unknown industry. The cherry on the cake is the 1.6 million tons of gravel to be removed from the Midgely Farm site on completion of the road. How much of the site is to remain as a water feature when all the gravel has been extracted from the site (it could be as long as 25 years, if the past is anything to go by) ? Where are the new Rugby ground and club house going?

It has always been made clear that it is one package, East of Otley, you cannot pick this bit out you like, and not have that bit you do not like. Yes, bits talked about by the Town Council such as the railway is ‘another Otley pie in the sky idea. There is a list of these going back many years and include a dry ski-run and ski village (about 40 years ago), a sports hall, running track (about 11 years ago) a new swimming baths, gym and restaurant (about 7 years ago), a greenway route from Otley to Ilkley/Addingham (yellow brick road) (25 years ago), new Community Hall (about 7 years ago). Many of these I would support, but we need to try and achieve one development, instead of having a list, many of which, over the years have gone round and round the Town Council, like a Groundhog Day Council and most of us will be dead by the time any of them come to fruition.

Councillor Nigel Francis

Independent Otley Town Council

Danefield Ward