OTLEY councillors have agreed to fund new research that will provide "armour" against unwelcome new development to the tune of £5,000.

The Town Council is to use money from its reserves to part-commission an impact assessment that will detail how the 1,177 new homes earmarked for the town are likely to affect it.

Otley campaign group ODD has already claimed that such scale of development, which would follow if Leeds City Council's currently draft Sites Allocation Plan is adopted, would be unsustainable.

The town council hopes the report will provide hard evidence to back that claim up and so strengthen the case for proper measures, to improve things like local schools and roads, to be taken before large-scale building can begin.

Carl Morris (Lab, Manor), addressing Monday's policy and resources committee meeting, said: "This would give the town a weapon in its armoury when it comes to negotiating with developers.

"The cost varies between £7,500 and £15,000. We have no budget line for this so we're proposing to release £5,000 from the reserves to then look for match funding from another source.

"We'd look to replenish the reserves in next year's budget."

Councillor Mike Evans (Lab, Manor) hailed the proposal as a "great idea", but several Liberal Democrat councillors voiced concerns.

Councillor Sandy Lay (Lib Dem, Danefield) questioned Coun Morris's belief that the city council might contribute towards the costs.

He said: "I am broadly in favour of supporting an impact assessment but I think it should be taken from the Neighbourhood Plan.

"I also have concerns that this money is coming out of the reserves when the external auditor's report says that our reserves for 2014-15 are a cause for concern."

He also claimed there was a much better value option available, with the possibility of a university conducting a "similar" impact study for just £500.

Councillor Jim Spencer (Lib Dem, West Chevin) added: "We will need an impact assessment but I would have thought the £20,000 for the Neighbourhood Plan would cover it."

Town Council leader Councillor John Eveleigh (Lab, Ashfield), however, pointed out that the Neighbourhood Plan money was effectively ring-fenced, while Coun Morris poured cold water on the idea a sufficiently comprehensive report could be produced for £500.

Coun Eveleigh, pointing out that sites like east of Otley had been designated for housing development for years, said: "We'll need something substantial to show that we need to have the effects of these developments mitigated in some way."

The funding request was approved but with a number of abstentions and one vote against.