I would urge you to have your say by responding to the East of Otley planning application when it appears shortly.This development of 550 homes is set to be the biggest change for many years and is likely to impact on the town for decades to come in many ways. We want any development to be sustainable, safeguard precious green space residents currently enjoy and to benefit the rest of the town.

By the time this is published, the planning application for Phase 1 of the East of Otley development may well have appeared on the Leeds website planning portal. Many residents responded to the informal consultation by East Otley Consortium expressing their concerns in particular over loss of green space. Whether the relief road is really needed post-Covid with more working from home was also questioned.

It is now even more important that residents across the whole of Otley find out about what is in the initial phase 1 planning application which covers the relief road and up to 150 houses. To help with this the East Otley Action Group are holding an online public meeting on Monday, April 19 from 7pm to 8pm, register at eastofotleyaction.co.uk and ODD will be providing detailed advice to residents on areas of concern and suggested ways to respond.

Of special concern for Danefield residents is likely to be impact on the Irish Fields area currently used for recreation and to view wildlife. It is hard to imagine that any development could avoid seriously affecting this well-loved green space, unless the development design includes a plan to keep the existing trees and green infrastructure, seeking to work around them, and indeed enhance biodiversity and wildlife. Once it has appeared the planning application can be scrutinised to see if it takes this approach, or a more destructive one.

Alongside Phase 1 there will be an outline planning application for the whole site. This is equally important because it could tie the town into a development likely to continue into 2028 which fails to connect to and compliment the rest of Otley. If the development proceeds it needs to be more modest, well-connected to boost town-centre businesses who are recovering from Covid. A larger local population would require expanded local amenities including more GPs and dentists. If done correctly this can lead to more and improved local entertainment venues such as an expanded Courthouse to replace the loss of the Civic Centre.

While most residents understandably do not spend their free time scrutinising planning applications: for the sake of our town I would urge you please to take time to find out what is proposed and make your views known to Leeds City Council.

Mick Bradley Otley town councillor (Green, Danefield)