A £36,000 study into the future of Otley's riverside has finally been published.

A Vision for Otley's Riverside, which includes ideas for bars, hotels, and paths, is expected to become the springboard for a number of projects.

Consultants working for Otley Town Partnership (OTP) have spent the last 17 months talking to landowners and city council planners to put together the planning and development blueprint for the town's much underused resource.

Councillor John Eveleigh, of OTP, said it was high time that the town made more of the Wharfe.

"The riverside is certainly a much underused and under rated facility. I can't think of another town with such a natural resource that keeps it so hidden away."

Coun Eveleigh said that he was supportive of anything that opened up more of the riverside to more people.

"This is a vision. There will be some bits that people will not like, but hopefully in the course of the next few years some of it will turn into reality."

The vision, which is intended as a declaration of how the town wants to see the riverside develop, suggests improved access and better use of the riverside as a leisure resource.

It suggests that the riverside is vital to the town's prosperity and that it should be developed into an integral part of the town.

Better use would be made of Wharfe-meadows Park, including a new public meeting place overlooking the river and weir, plus new pedestrian and cycle links as part of any future long term development of Garnett's mill.

The pedestrian bridges would link Otley Mills and Armitage Monobond to a new north bank footpath and riverside housing at Ashfield Works.

Coun Eveleigh said a large part of the river's redevelopment was concerned with the future of the city council owned Ashfield Works site - in the vision as having potential for retail, employment, community, hotel and housing.

"There are very large opportunities with the Ashfield Works site, once that becomes available. Hopefully the city council will not flog it off to the highest bidder."

He added it was crucial that all those with an interest in the river side - from the Wharfeside Business Park to Garnett's paper mill and onto Gallows Hill - were in agreement.

"We are trying to ensure that all these people talk to each other so that these things in the vision can start to happen."

Les Cross, OTP secretary, said it was a valuable document which would be useful for anyone planning development along the riverside.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Otley and we are very pleased to have brought together a number of different groups and organisations.

"What we have here is a blueprint for the future of the Otley riverside and it has definitely been worth all the money and effort."

The project was commissioned and paid for by the Otley Market Towns Initiative which is due to come to an end at the end of this month.

It is hoped that the work started by the vision will be continued if an application for hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Sub Region Investment Plan is successful.

l Copies of the executive summary for A Vision for Otley's Riverside will be available shortly from OTP offices in The Courthouse, Otley or from Wharfedale Newspapers, 9 Orchard Gate, Otley.