Welcome to the April 2016 update.
As another fantastic Tour de Yorkshire comes to a close, we continue to build on its success, working towards creating a more vibrant town so that visitors and residents are enticed to visit and #BuyInOtley.
Here is a summary of some of the ongoing projects we are currently working on:
- Refurbishment of Street Furniture – Painting of the street furniture picked up speed last month in advance of the Tour de Yorkshire (traffic lights, signs, lampposts etc). The work was arranged and overseen by Otley BID and Leeds City Council agreed to fund all equipment used. We would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the Community Payback Scheme who undertook the work and went over and above what they were asked to do, resulting in much more street furniture being painted than originally agreed. This has lead to the main areas of the town centre being spruced up which I am sure you will agree now looks 100% smarter. It is hoped Community Payback will continue to help Otley BID in improving the town centre.
- Ornamental Bicycles – ECON of Ripon, the UK’s largest manufacturer of gritters and salt spreading vehicles, kindly agreed to powder coat 12 bicycles for the Tour de Yorkshire, which went on to being displayed around the town. We would like to thank the Police and Peter Heald for donating the bikes and Craig Mason who helped transport them to Ripon for painting.
- Flags – The BID worked closely with Shane Green and the 5th and 6th form students at Prince Henry’s Grammar School to place flags around the town centre in the run up to the Tour. The flags included a fantastic 50 different designs depicting various images of Otley. All of the 50 designs were selected and made into flags with each student’s Christian name included on their individual flag. The project was a great example of young people taking pride and identifying with the town and what it has to offer.
- Artwork in Empty Spaces – Plans for placing vinyl graphics in the windows of empty premises to make them look more visually appealing is continuing positively. Motor World, Barclays Bank, Academy Florists, Discount Fashion and Taylors Shoes have all been measured up for artwork to be in place for the Tour de Yorkshire.
As mentioned last September, we were seeking permission for a mural to be painted on 27 Manor Square, the entrance to Bay Horse Court (to the side of For the Home furniture shop). This will provide an attractive addition to the town and raise awareness of the 18th Century site that formerly included a corn mill. We are delighted that work was completed for the Tour de Yorkshire weekend by James Davis from Studio Seven Art Gallery who was commissioned to create the mural.
- Tidy-Up of the Town – The Bay Horse Pub has agreed to replace their stunning flower display around the back of the building in Bay Horse Court. They will also be removing the ‘To Let’ sign and generally having a tidy up. Thank you to Barclays Bank for cleaning up the outside of the building, to Kwik Fit for re-building their walls and all other businesses which have put extra effort into tidying things up. I am sure you will agree that ‘every little helps!’ These are only small house-keeping jobs but when done they improve the look of the town and change the perception of our visitors. These ‘tidy up’ projects were always part of our overall plan but we have been using the Tour de Yorkshire as the catalyst for getting them done.
- Arts Display – The Courthouse have been co-ordinating a major large scale Arts Display located at the Rugby Club for the TV helicopters during the Tour de Yorkshire. We were delighted to be able to make available some materials to help with this artwork.
- Festival Support – For the 2nd year we have been asked to support the Boom Festival financially with a sum of £2000, as well as similar funding towards the Food & Drink Festival. Both events proved very successful last year and we look forward to building on these successes year on year.