An appeal for ideas on how to improve Otley’s former open-air swimming pool site has obviously caught the imagination of local residents.

Councillor Ryk Downes has received more than 100 responses so far to his request, and expects more still to come in.

We’re not sure if we would agree with his description of the old pool site, near the cafe and play area at Wharfemeadows Park, as an “eyesore” exactly – as it looks, on the face of it, tidy enough.

But we certainly could concur with Coun Downes’ claim that the site, and the surrounding area, is currently not being used to anything like its potential.

And for a very popular park with such a stunning riverside setting, that is a real shame.

So the suggestions that have come flooding in from townsfolk are to be welcomed.

They range from the fairly straightforward – for example, by creating a better and more accessible cafe and toilets facility that is open more frequently – to the truly ambitious. Building a new outdoor pool on the site might at first seem like a slightly outlandish, ‘back to the future’ proposition – and one that could come with prohibitive costs attached. But why shouldn’t Otley aspire to have an attraction along the lines of Ilkley’s very successful Lido? The demand, judging by the high numbers of visitors Wharfemeadows Park attracts each year – often on hot sunny days when an al fresco dip would be all too appealing – certainly looks to be there.

And such a venture would also tie in well with the town’s hopes of creating an Olympics legacy sporting hub in the vicinity. Of course the elephant in the room would be funding, especially given a national economic climate that, while perhaps now out of A&E, is still very much recovering. But with the right kind of nous and imagination such hurdles can be overcome – as demonstrated by one resident’s idea for using hydro-power, from a turbine fitted on the nearby weir, to heat such an outdoor pool. Savvy suggestions like that should only make us optimistic for the site, and the park’s chances of really fulfilling its potential.

Let's hope lessons have been learning from tragedy

When we go into hospital we expect that we are going to be cared for to the best of the ability of medics and health professionals.

Sadly, in the case of Otley grandmother Gwendolen Bingham, that does not seem to have been the case. An inquest has been told that the 75-year-old died after a knee replacement operation when complications arose which could have been avoided. Independent and in good health, Mrs Bingham developed renal failure which was not picked up while she was in hospital, and subsequently she suffered a heart attack and stroke which led to her death. The sad thing is, it appears all this could have been avoided if proper hospital procedures had been followed, according to evidence given at the inquest.

This has been a hugely traumatic time for Mrs Bingham’s family and it is even more tragic given that it was an avoidable event.

As Mrs Bingham’s daughter says, we should be able to have faith in our hospitals doing the right thing. It does nothing to alleviate the pain felt by Mrs Bingham’s family and friends, but it can only be hoped that lessons have been learned from this tragic episode and that no families in the future have to go through this.