OK, we know we have shamefully lost this beautiful and glorious pub, but planning applications are in place to develop the site for a 4-storey (!) 66-bed care home.
Otley Pub Club has consistently opposed change of use plans for this site and we are now aware that others have raised significant concerns about this specific proposal. There are many objections to the development. Mainly due to the ambiguous nature of the plans and lack of clarity (deliberately?) on exactly what is being proposed. There are a lot of documents in the proposal:
The new proposal is for a 4-storey(!) 66 bedroom facility that, with 4 double bedrooms, would be larger than the recently opened Wharfeside Care Home in Otley. This despite the proposal occupying a significantly smaller, and roadside, site.
Those objecting cite issues including: inadequate regard for vehicle access, movement and parking; inappropriate scale (the structure would dominate the neighbourhood); destruction of the architecturally significant “Ripening Wall; damage/destruction of trees (including those with Tree Preservation Orders); inaccurate/contradictory drawing of site boundaries; inconsistent details (e.g., between statements and drawings); disruption to Rights of Way; etc.
More details and information on this planning application are available from the LCC Planning website. The current deadline for comments and objections is the 18th of January.
Click here to access the “home page” for the current Summercross planning application (22/07870/FU).
If you wish to keep up to date with the context for this, and potentially other, Otley related planning issues you can register with the ODD Campaigns to receive email updates. This excellent independent service has been running for some years providing clear information to the community for free. To register simply send an email to oddcampaign@gmail.com providing your name, post code and “Pub Club” with Summercross as the subject line.
The ODD (Appropriate Sustainable Development for Otley) Campaign – https://theoddcampaign.webs.com/ have already submitted questions regarding the proposed development, and here’s a message from them:
Hi
We have just about finished wading through the drawings and many documents that form the current planning application (click here to view them). The application contains a surprising large number of ambiguities and inconsistencies which render the intent unclear.
Today a comment was submitted to LCC planning seeking clarifications, and also an extension to the published (18 January) deadline for submitting comments.
If you wish to add weight to this request for clarifications (and an extension), please submit your own version to LCC.
The main text of the nine questions follows…
The planning application is for a 66 bedroom care home, but how many residents will it accommodate?
What is the agreed site boundary (several of the application drawings include Ings Lane and a triangle of land reaching across to Somerville Terrace)?
What is actually proposed regarding the recently confirmed Public Right of Way across the former pub carpark (which provided a safe alternative to Ings Lane)?
Is the historic warming wall along the East Busk Lane boundary to be conserved and retained as it is?
Is the remaining pear tree from the historically important orchard to be retained (as explicitly stated in the Statement of Community Engagement)?
What is the proposed level of the main area of flat roof to the new build (and of the lift shaft extensions)?
What is the proposed level of the Lower Ground Floor (and is its construction likely to require the existing pub walls to be underpinned)?
What are the proposed ground levels along the western side of the proposed south wing?
By what route will the waste bins be moved from inside the home to the bin store?
It is suggested that you copy and paste the above questions into a word processor, add a request for the published deadline for submitting comments to be extended and save the file. If you wish to maximise the effectiveness of your submission, please consider also …
– Deleting one or two selected questions
– Altering the sequence of the remaining questions
– Altering some of the wording
– Considering amplifying one or two questions (drawing on the content of the submitted secondary text)
– Add any additional questions that you may have
Please be aware that your comments will be uploaded as plain text. The process for submitting your comments is below:
How to Submit a Comment to LCC
- Click here to access the “home page” for the current Summercross planning application (22/07870/FU).
- Click on Login (or Register if you are new to the system) – both are on the bar near the top of the window.
- Once logged in, repeat (1) to return to the 22/07870/FU “home page”.
- Click the Comments tab, this will display the Make a Comment form
- For “Commenter Type” select Neighbour Response from the drop-down list
- For “Stance” select one of Support, Neutral or Object.
- For “Your Comment” copy and paste your prepared comment into the “your comment” box.
- Check that the comment looks OK and click the Submit button.
In summary, the cynical way this pub, when popular and actually profitable, was closed against the wishes of the sitting tenant and the local community was shameful. This could and should be a successful pub, on the east of Otley. Otley Pub Club have heard several approaches from companies wanting to buy and reopen it as a pub, but the previous owners wouldn’t sell it except at a ridiculously inflated price. Developers should not get their way in cases like this and we will continue to oppose these plans, which involve the permanent destruction of a historic, unique and popular pub – the only pub named The Summercross in the whole country.
