The hunt for a home for the arts in Otley could be nearly over.

Hopes are high that the former magistrates Court building at Courthouse Street will form a permanent base for the town's arts group, Arts for Otley.

At a meeting of Otley Town Council's Community Development Committee, Chairman Coun John Eveleigh (Labour, Manor Ward) revealed that talks had been taking place with the current owners of the building, the Leeds Development Agency (LDA), the property arm of Leeds City Council.

And an enthusiastic response has come from Arts for Otley, which has already staged two successful events in the building.

Coun Eveleigh said: "I attended a meeting for Arts for Otley where we talked about the possibility of an arts centre/cinema for the town.

"It has been mooted on a number of occasions that possibly the magistrates court might be an appropriate centre for this and, indeed, Arts for Otley have used the building for the last two summers. With that in mind, Phil Coyne and myself have had several meetings with the Leeds Development Agency because the building is now surplus to Leeds City Council's requirements."

He added: "Hopefully this will take months rather than years and hopefully weeks rather than months."

Councillor Eveleigh was optimistic that Otley Town Council could act as a 'key player' in the proceedings, and that use of the former court would be most appropriate.

He said: "Certainly when I spoke to Arts for Otley, there seemed to be quite a lot of enthusiasm for it. There is a team of experts waiting to get started on this project.''

The former courthouse building has not been in regular use since the end of March 1997, but its possible use as an arts centre has been fuelled by the Midsummer Madness events this year and last.

Janet Jackson of Arts for Otley said: "We are just raring to go and we have got loads of expertise.

"We could do more if we had a base. The sooner we get an answer, the better."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.