IT may well come as a shock to many people in Otley that parts of an estate on the north of the river suffer the same levels of deprivation as in the poorest parts of Leeds.

Statistics have revealed that there are high numbers of people claiming benefits, of people out of work and also with health problems. This small pocketon the Weston Estate also has problems with housing - with many houses only just having their outside toilets replaced.

What makes the lives more difficult for residents is they live within the relatively prosperous area of Otley. And because of this, the support networks are not in place - as they will be in parts of Leeds.

But now, a joint project between the Primary Care Group and the Otley and Wharfedale Community Involvement Team is looking at what can be done to improve life on the estate. Money is available and the will is there to make real changes. But it will mean those living there will have to get involved - and say what their needs are.

This is a chance for something really positive to happen in Otley. And hopefully, it's success will be passed on to other areas suffering similar problems.

CHILDREN at Hawksworth School have spent many hours painstakingly putting together their own traffic survey - and their conclusions make grim reading for the village.

They claim there are problems with the speed and volume of traffic, parking and that heavy goods vehicles are causing damage to buildings. They come to the conclusion that traffic calming measures, cameras and a bypass are the main remedies to these problems - something that residents have long-campaigned for.

If the decades-long wait for Leeds City Council action that fed-up villagers in nearby Pool-in-Wharfedale have had to endure is anything to go by, the current Hawksworth kids may have grandchildren at the school before anything gets done.

The parallels in Pool and Hawksworth's traffic problems are startling.

The powers-that-be need to take on board the detailed comments of both the children and the residents and take action now - before a tragedy occurs.