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. Original image donated by Chris Broughton © Otley in Bloom - Growing Civic Pride Previous page Next Page
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This "Otley Town Enhancement Study" is an Otley in Bloom project which has been underway since 2003. To demonstrate the enormity of this project we will explain the processes that we have been through and then explain where we are with it today.

The project began when the Otley in Bloom group identified many areas of the town where improvements could be made. It was therefore decided that the way forward would be to devise an action plan where we could list everything we wanted to do and prioritise the proposed projects.		 OTES Front Cover
OTES Map We then developed this idea further and in 2003 produced a substantial document titled "50 Ways To Green Our Town". This document contained details of all the projects the group would like to tackle. Projects ranged from such things as improving the car parking areas of Otley, removing huge advertising hoardings from certain areas to creating a community orchard for everyone to use.

We contacted Leeds City Council about our 50 Ways Project and were invited to submit a copy of our proposals to their planning department for consideration and their comments. We were then given their approval to progress with the ideas.
We advertised our document and our plans in the Otley Library Window and in the local media and invited everyone to a public meeting on 29th March 2004 at the Civic Centre. This was so that the people of Otley could be included and have their say in how we could make progress with the work.

At the meeting we displayed a brief description of each of the proposed projects. We had a wonderful turnout where over seventy people ranked the projects in order of preference and put forward any other projects that they wanted to see done. 		OTES Hoardings Project
When the meeting was over we then collated the responses and have been able to group and prioritise the projects according to the interest shown by the people of Otley.

From these responses we created a "Framework for Action" document, which we submitted to Leeds City Council and The Market Towns Initiative. The MTI then agreed to provide funding for some consultants to provide designs for the areas that have been identified as needing work. As a group we gave over 500 hours of voluntary time before we were ready to call on the Consultants to do their work.

The Consultants then made a survey of the town, considered the viable improvements that were possible, and then provided us with an 80 page document titled "The Otley Town Enhancement Study" which contained design ideas and detailed costings for the following main projects:
 
  • Town Gateways
  • Main road corridors
  • Public Parks
  • Car Parks
  • Street Furniture
  • Railway Trail
  • Hoardings Removal
  • Market Place
 OTES Car Park Project . OTES Gateways Project
OTES Public Park Project . OTES Street Furniture Project
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  The Future:

The Otley in Bloom group is now actively using this document to promote its proposals and obtain funding to improve the town. A copy of the full document is available for inspection in the Otley Public Library.

For more details about the projects we're working on please see the Current Projects page.
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Otley in Bloom - working with the business community and the people of Otley
to make our town a greener place to live.
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