PARTS of Otley suffer the same level of deprivation as poorer parts of Leeds, it has been revealed.

Areas of the Weston Estate, which totals around 1,000 homes, suffer housing and health problems with high levels of unemployment and people claiming benefits.

Until recently a number of houses still had outside toilets and up to 70 per cent have either just partial or no central heating.

Now the estate has been highlighted as an area of concern by councillors and health professionals and is set to become a model for other poorer areas in Otley and Wharfedale to follow.

The joint initiative between the Leeds North-West Primary Care Group (PCG) and Otley and Wharfedale Community Involvement Team (CIT) sets out to identify what problems there are and then to tackle them. Money to set up clinics and pay for health advice leaflets will come from the PCG or from other funds.

Questionnaires are to be sent out to householders on Meagill Rise, Weston Drive, The Oval and Weston Ridge and a public meeting may be held.

Doctors are being asked to supply data on incidences of coronary heart disease, asthma and obesity, and the city council for information on numbers claiming housing and other benefits.

Sue Chapman, locality manager for Leeds North-West PCG, said: "The Weston Estate is an area of deprivation within the affluent area of Otley."

She said health visitors, GPs and the council were working together to collate information on health problems and the state of the housing to shopping habits and any educational problems.

"We will be sending out questionnaires to all houses asking people what they perceive are their health needs."

Philip Coyne, chairman of Otley and Wharfedale CIT, said it was important to raise the profile of the Weston Estate.

"We hope to use it as a model for other areas in Otley. There is also an area of need in the Bradford Road area, at Crossways and also in Pool-in-Wharfedale."

Coun Coyne said the initiative was one of the most useful projects to come out of the partnership with the PCG.

"It is important to stress that this is very much just a pocket of deprivation. There are huge advantages of living there, but there are some cases of quite extreme poverty living cheek by jowl with affluent areas.

"The deprivation indicators are the same as Leeds city centre but the problem in Otley is that the support mechanisms are not in place."

Coun Coyne added some of the houses on the estate were built more than 80 years ago with little or no improvements carried out since.

"There are 70 per cent of houses that have no central heating. They might have electric fires and a couple of radiators, but that is just not acceptable," he said.

Mrs Chapman added: "We are sure that we can make a real difference. Certainly if we work in relationship with all the other agencies we can really improve services there."

A spokeswoman for Leeds City Council said the council believed there were no houses on the estate still with outside toilets only.

She said letters had been sent out to residents asking them to inform the council if they wanted their toilets replaced.

l Anyone who would like to find out more about the CIT/PCG health initiative should telephone Sue Chapman on (0113) 2954284 or Jill Salvin, health promotion specialist, on (0113) 3055373.