Bid to get town centre eyesore 'back into action'

Fultons in Otley town centre has been empty since 2022

Campaigners in a West Yorkshire town are hoping new legislation could be used to bring a vacant shop back into use.

The former Fultons store in Otley has stood empty since 2022 and has been left to "decline to an unacceptable standard".

Leeds North West Labour MP Katie White is calling on Leeds City Council to implement High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) powers, which allow local authorities to sell off leases for commercial properties that have been empty for long periods.

A council spokesperson said "the potential to utilise this power is being kept under review and considered in conjunction with the available resources", adding that they would be "happy to discuss the request".

Eight local authorities committed to the government's HSRA pilot scheme earlier this year in the hope they would "set an example" to other councils.

White, who is working with other businesses in Otley and the wider community to revive the Fultons site, said: "We don't want to see this in the town any more.

"We want to have a thriving town with all the buildings in use."

Katie White, MP for Leeds North West, says she wants Otley to "thrive"

Sara Elliott, who runs a bookshop overlooking Fultons, said her customers had commented on the state of the site.

She said: "It's sad, it's a really nice building.

"It could be a really nice building and it's sad to see it just decaying."

The Otley Business Improvement District (BID) has backed White's call for the town to join the government's pilot programme.

Chair Katie Burnett, who also owns local garden centre Courtyard Planters, said: "If you own a property in a town, you have a responsibility for it to be economically viable and useful.

"We know that we've got businesses that want to expand or move into Otley and there aren't very many premises they can move into - yet there are these that are sat not doing anything."

Katie Burnett, chair of Otley BID, says property owners have a responsibility to make buildings "useful"

The BBC contacted the owner of the Fultons store, Wharfedale Ltd, for a comment and it said it had instructed a repair notice to be served on the tenant.

A spokesperson for Larter Associates, on behalf of Wharfedale, said: "The responsibility for the external repair of the Fultons store lines with the tenant.

"The building's state of repair has declined to an unacceptable standard which needs to be reversed.

"The current lease expires on 4 November 2025.

"Given the short time frame remaining on the lease and the likelihood that the tenant will not repair the building, the landlord is currently considering matters and will take action."

Ms White's campaign will work with Otley BID, Leeds City Council and local businesses to help determine a future use for the site.

She said conversations were also "under way" with government departments to unlock national funding and make Otley one of the first towns in the country to benefit from the new powers.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the powers granted to local authorities to undertake high street rental auctions to tackle the problem of persistently vacant premises.

"The potential to utilise this power is being kept under review and considered in conjunction with the available resources.

"We will be happy to discuss the request in Otley further with the MP and BID."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.