Otley Town Council Invites the Community to Celebrate Local Heroes
At Otley Town Council’s Parish and Annual Meetings last week, the emphasis was on saying thank you to individuals and community groups making a positive difference in Otley. Celebrated were those who had supported residents during lockdown and others who continue to serve the community in sometimes unseen ways. The Town Council annual report was also notable for its emphasis on partnership working and on the range of groups which, together with Council, are working to support residents and businesses within the town.
It was an evening which, according to Town Council Chair, Richard Hughes, “Demonstrated the energetic and purposeful third sector in the town, and rightly honoured some of the individuals who make, for so many people, Otley a fantastic place to live and work. The Council can, and does, achieve a lot, but it can do this in partnership. It also recognises the invaluable work done by others in the community and is delighted to recognise this in its awards.”
The evening began with the short Council Annual Report. Given by Cllr Richard Hughes, it highlighted the aims of the Council this year:
- Safeguard the distinctive nature and amenities of Otley as outlined in the Neighbourhood Plan
- Improve the town’s environment to reflect the needs of residents and business and the declaration of a climate emergency
- Support town events and projects
- Use the precept efficiently to provide a service to residents and achieve the aims above
And gave examples of successful partnerships to achieve these aims, including with business groups, charities, and local interest groups. The Town Benchmarking Report was cited. This has shown that Otley is doing well (90% of visitors would recommend it to others), but that there remain areas to improve, including Otley streets, which were the subject of the recent Street Vision 2030 consultation. Community group partnership is also increasingly a feature of Council coordination.
Following the Parish Meeting was the Annual Meeting at which Cllr Linda Hoare was installed as the new Mayor and Cllr Ray Smith was agreed to be her Deputy. It was a lovely choice by Cllr Hoare to choose outgoing Mayor Cllr Sylvia Thomson as one of her Consorts for the year; as Cllr Thomson acknowledged in her report, it had been a mayoral year significantly disrupted by Covid; being Consort will allow her the privilege of accompanying Cllr Hoare to some of the functions she missed last year.
The focus of the meeting then turned to the recognition of some of Otley’s great community stalwarts. A packed audience at the United Reformed Church Hall showed their appreciation of the following award winners:
Otley Covid-19 Emergency Award
- Shannon Coles for the Otley Vegbox Scheme, which delivered fresh vegetable to families during the pandemic and continues to do so during school holidays
- Otley Action for Older People for organising a wide range of invaluable support for vulnerable and elderly residents throughout the pandemic
- Andrea Petch for organising a large group of local residents to sew hospital scrubs – the basis of the continuing Otley Sewing Collective.
Otley Achievement Award
- Open Country, for supporting access to the countryside for those with disabilities and especially for their work at Gallows Hill Nature Area
- Otley in Bloom for the work to keep Otley looking beautiful with flowers and general tidying up of the town throughout the year
- Otley and Yorkshire Dales Branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association, which has put in work on the Chevin to create the dry stone wall maze and to repair other walls.
Otley Honorary Citizens
- Katie Burnett, for her significant work over many years with the Otley Chamber of Trade, Otley Bid and Otley in Bloom
- Iain Paterson, who has been Leader of the Bridge Church Scouts for forty years and has nurtured the skills and enthusiasms of generations of Otley’s youngsters
- Shirley Vincent, for her work with the WRVS ‘meals on wheels’, working in the out-patients shop and inpatients trolley at Wharfedale Hospital, for her work setting up the Prince Henry’s Grammar School Rugby Supporters Club, and for her work in the Royal British Legion.
Honorary Clockman Award – Tony Nixon, who has quietly and unobtrusively tended the Otley Jubilee Clock over the last fourteen years.
New Town Mayor, Cllr Linda Hoare was keen to stress the community nature of the evening. “It was a wonderful way to begin my time as Mayor, congratulating and thanking so many wonderful Otley organisations and individuals for the work that they do.”
Cllr Sylvia Thomson, the outgoing Mayor agreed. “Otley is rightly known for its community spirit. It has been a privilege to be Mayor this last year and I know that my successor, Cllr Linda Hoare, will appreciate the role as much as I did – supporting Otley’s organisations in their work.”
