What constitutes a good neighbour?

Ask ten people and you’re likely to get ten different answers.

They might range from “someone who is willing and happy to help” to “those who respect others by not causing a nuisance or intruding”, or, conversely, “somebody who is easygoing and not quick to complain.”

But surely one undisputed trait consists of simply talking to those living beside us to keep the lines of communication open and so, hopefully, head off any potential conflict or misunderstanding.

That seems to be precisely what hasn’t happened concerning Guiseley AFC’s ambitious plans to upgrade its grounds at Nethermoor Park.

No one, it goes without saying, should criticise a local football club for taking steps to better itself and provide better amenities for fans.

And nor is there any suggestion that the club has done anything but ‘by the book’ when it comes to submitting its planning application for three new stands, turbines, toilets and all the rest.

But on this occasion, with a club based on parkland that the public has an historic right to access, there was surely a pressing need to do more, to reach out to the community – and its immediate neighbour, Guiseley Cricket Club – and explain its goals.

That would have been a very simple, but effective way, of heading off potential problems by hearing concerns in advance and working out ways of addressing them.

The fact it didn’t happen is a missed opportunity for both the club and its neighbours.

Children think big for a better Otley

Primary school children in Otley have responded magnificently to a request to contribute to the new Neighbourhood Plan.

Thinking big with the freshness – and lack of fear – that comes with youth, pupils put forward a host of ideas on how to change the town for the better in the coming decades.

Many, such as a well-thought out proposal for creating a new river bridge, were truly impressive in both their ambition and supporting detail.

Otley Town Council and the Neighbourhood Plan steering committee had promised they would be seeking the views of Otley residents of all shapes and sizes when they began work on the scheme.

So it was genuinely refreshing to see some of the first fruits of that work this week, when the schoolchildren put their suggestions, drawings, maps and poems up on display in the Otley Core Resource Centre.

It is a great example of how to engage, inspire and empower a new generation who, when they reach their prime, might actually see some of their childhood ideas put into practice in their home town.