AN OTLEY councillor is calling on the owners of the former civic centre in Otley to come forward with a scheme to bring the Grade II listed heritage building back into use.

Liberal Democrat Leeds City Councillor for Otley and Yeadon and Otley Town Councillor Colin Campbell has issued the call after it emerged this week that the owners - the Sekhon Group under the banner of Otley Civic Centre Limited - failed to submit the relevant documents as part of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate after Leeds City Council turned down planning permission to convert the building into flats. As a result the appeal has failed.

Addressing the appeal the Planning Inspectorate said in a letter this week: "We are unable to accept appeals unless all the essential supporting documents are received before the 6 months deadline expires. Unfortunately, there are some documents outstanding. We requested these in our letter dated 29 September 2023 but they have not been submitted, and the appeal period deadline has now expired. We are therefore, unable to take any action on the appeal(s)."

In June 2022 Leeds City Council turned down an application to convert the former Otley Civic Centre into 35 apartments saying: "The proposed development would have a negative impact on the listed building by way of the intensive and insensitive subdivision being proposed."

Otley Civic Centre Limited responded by submitting a fresh application to convert the listed building on Cross Green into 28 apartments - an optimal number to allow for profit against the cost of refurbishment, they said.

However, this was also refused for a host of reasons. The application did not have a Heritage Statement and drew many objections including from the conservation team.

The building remains empty and due to its poor condition it was placed on national heritage 'at risk' register earlier this year.

This week Cllr Colin Campbell welcomed the news the Planning Inspectorate has refused the appeal by the Sekhon Group against the City Council's decision not to allow the building to be converted to flats.

"The proposals were totally unsuitable," said Cllr Campbell. "They would have been over development and would have had a significant effect on this listed building. They would also have created significant parking problems in the area.

"This iconic building deserves better and I am calling on the owner to come forward quickly with an acceptable repair/refurbishment scheme which can bring the building back into use."

The Sekhon Group have been contacted for comment.