The closure of Dunnies cafe in Otley this weekend will certainly be lamented by the local cycling, motorcycling and walking communities.

The riverside business has, after all, been serving up warm drinks, bacon butties and the like to residents and visitors for just shy of 90 years.

And its position, by Otley Bridge, means it has been ideally placed to act as a cosy welcoming beacon to those coming, or returning to, the town from the north.

Life, as the old saying goes, is change so in one respect the cafe’s loss – to make way for a new care home – is simply a sign of the town evolving to the rhythms of different demands.

The attempts by some residents and local politicians to keep the place going, however, did shine an interesting light on the tricky question of what exactly should happen when free enterprise and community interests clash.

But that, now that Gladman Care Homes has secured the permission it needs to press on and Wharfe View Cafe, to give it its official title, is set for demolition, is a discussion for another time.

For the time being, we would like to join Councillor Sandy Lay in wishing the cafe’s owners, Paul and Michael Davies, a happy and long retirement after their many years of running the business to such popular acclaim.

The Davies family is hoping to catch up with many customers, old and new, before it locks the property up for the final time on Sunday, February 2. We fully expect them, as they have on so many occasions in the past, to be rather busy.

Bramhope burglary shocker

Bramhope is not exactly Dodge City, so it will have come as a surprise to residents to find their village listed among the UK’s burglary hotspots.

It’s quite a shock to see Bramhope listed up there with the likes of Manchester, Liverpool and London – but the real story is slightly more complicated than it might first appear. Unless local people have been sleeping through a massive crime spree, there has to be something else going on – and the fact is their village has earned an unwarranted reputation by association, simply because of the way the figures are organised.

The village is part of LS16 – and it is LS16 which is placed in the top 20 of the list of burglary hotspots produced by MoneySuperMarket.

The postcode encompasses a large area taking in parts of Leeds which have little in common with the sleepy village.

Whatever the crime rates may be in Adel, Cookridge, Eccup, Far Headingley, Holt Park, Ireland Wood, Lawnswood, Moor Grange, Tinshill, Weetwood and West Park, there is no evidence of a particularly high number of burglaries in Bramhope itself.

Indeed, police say Bramhope is a relatively low crime area, particularly when compared with some other parts of Leeds 16.

Lists and league tables can have their uses especially when a quick overview is needed – but they should always be used with caution and a healthy amount of cynicism.

Despite the latest figures it seems that the good people of Bramhope can probably sleep soundly in their beds after all.