The Site
The site is on the northern side of Westgate, Otley situated in front of Anchor’s Wharfeside Care Home and west of the neighbouring Falcon Sports and Social Club.
A sustainable location
The site is located within Otley town centre, in an extremely sustainable location, within a short walk (3 to 4 minutes) of Waitrose supermarket and Westgate Surgery further west along Westgate.
A wide array of other shops and services, including shops, cafés, restaurants and services, are located within a short walk east of the site.
The site is also close to leisure destinations (5-7 minute walk) of walks along The River Wharfe, Manor Garth Park, Tittybottle Park and Garnett’s Field.
Planning context
The site forms part of wider site allocation in the Leeds Site Allocations Plan (2019, amended 2024) under reference MX2-1. The plan indicates that the allocated site is suitable for a mix of residential and town centre uses, including older persons’ housing.
Site allocations MX2-1 and MX2-2 are subject to an extant planning permission under reference 17/07108/FU for a large 15,000 square foot food store, a care home and the conversion of the former historic industrial buildings, together with six dwellings and a new pay and display car park on the south side of Westgate. The food store would have been built on the Beech Hill Car Park and accessed through Churchill Living site, and parking would have been decanted to site MX2-2.
The permitted scheme has been partly implemented. The former industrial buildings are either now occupied or awaiting conversion to commercial and residential uses. The care home has been built and is occupied.
However, the food store is not being taken forward owing to a lack of commercial interest, and the Beech Hill Car Park, on which the food store would have been built, and site MX2-2, on which the six houses and the pay and display car park would have been constructed, are not included as part of Churchill’s proposals.