About Otley Common | Otley Common

Otley Common is a place
An ethos and a commitment

Otley Common is going to become a place for everyone to enjoy and the transformation has begun.

We are creating:

A cafe
Home for community groups and classes
A live music and comedy venue
A theatre
A rehearsal space
Affordable studio space for artists and small businesses
Co-working facilities
A dedicated youth area
Rentable space for private and professional functions

What is Otley Common?

We want to create local economic growth, spending and investment, whilst managing our carbon footprint, promoting energy efficiency, and preserving & enhancing local biodiversity

Sustainability and Regeneration

We want everyone in Otley and the surrounding area to have a positive perception of their community and area, feeling happy and proud of where they live

Citizenship and Community

We want to provide opportunities to engage in meaningful and fulfilling activities, creating a sense of purpose, emotional resilience, confidence and aspirations for the future

Mental Health and Wellbeing

We want to provide access to training opportunities, so individuals can develop new skills and create lifelong learning opportunities

Employment, Training and Education

We want to provide access to high quality, affordable, and inclusive opportunities in the arts, cultural services, heritage and sports

Arts & Heritage

Three years ago a group of people got together to try and turn an underutilised building in the centre of Otley into an asset for the whole community to benefit from.

But our ambition goes far beyond preserving the bricks and mortar, our plans are truly transformational for Otley and the local community.

We want to create positive change and a lasting impact with five core themes at the heart of our plans:

Vision

This is a story about our towns, our streets, our buildings and our communities.

The spaces and places we all share, should share, and need to share.

They lead us to a deeper sense of place and connect us to each other. COMMON places that we can meet, learn, teach, work and enjoy.

Places that make us feel proud.

Places that speak to us, that we have helped create, we can have a stake in, that we build for the COMMON good.

To create a new history — reinvented, renovated and reimagined.

What our old COMMON buildings can be.

These buildings were never constructed to serve the few, they were created in eras of civic pride, constructed for the COMMON person.

This is our collective commission — we are now custodians of the building,

We are giving it a new purpose, a new lease of life, a meaning for the future, value to our town and all of us that live here.

An open building, a beacon, an inviting place for us all to use, to communicate, to experience.
A place that combines the wealth of a community, its people, its resources and its spirit.

Created from a cooperative approach and a true sense of duty.

Here will be a place we all have in COMMON

From the outset we’ve had a clear goal in mind and principles by which we’d achieve it. This is our manifesto.

Manifesto

Clare was born and bred in Otley and having moved back to Otley ten years ago she is now Chair of Otley Players, Otley’s community theatre group.

Clare is an Executive Director of one of the largest NHS Hospital Trusts in the country and is passionate about inclusive access to the Arts for all.

Operational Development

Claire Smith

Stefanie is an award-winning Chartered Architect who lives and works in Otley. She is the Director of Stead and Co. Architects, specialising in community consultation, collaborative design, and delivery of heritage community projects.

Awarded an MBE for services to architecture and construction. She is a lecturer at York College and an Inclusive Champion for the Construction Industry Council.

Building Development

Stefanie Stead MBE

Andy is a former corporate finance and strategic planning partner in an accountancy and business advisory practice. He is a founder of Otley 2030 and Otley Energy, a Community Benefit Society.

He has extensive experience sitting on and advising third sector boards and currently advises national and local government on the transition to net zero and sustainable communities.

Finance

Andy Boyle

Andrew is the Community Development Lead for Otley 2030 and a Forest School Leader. He has worked in education for almost twenty years and has been a project leader in third sector organisations for over fifteen years.

He is chair of Friends of Gallows Hill and a founder of Otley Community Land Trust.

Community Development

Andrew Howarth

Simon is a recently retired Partner of a top ten firm of Chartered Accountants.

He has been an Otley resident all his life and has recently been instrumental in helping set up Otley Live. Simon has worked within the music industry and continues to use his financial awareness and local music connections to the benefit of our organisation

Finance / Events

Simon Palmer

Jarrod works in IT project management and has over twenty years worth of experience in marketing, design and web development.

A local resident for over twenty years and committed to local projects and volunteering.

Marketing

Jarrod Hollingdrake

Paul has worked in the Arts, Hospitality and Events sector for 30+ years.

With a career that has spanned theatre production, radio DJing, performance and stage management, in Hull, London and New Zealand, Paul relocated to Otley seven years ago to work in events management. Now working as a property manager, Paul brings his enthusiasm and wide expertise to help make this project a great success.

Events / Operations

Paul Shelley

Will has twenty years experience delivering IT Programmes and Projects across both Public and Private organisations and is currently Head of Programmes for a Global IT Service Provider.

Will moved to Otley in 2017 and whilst walking past the Methodist church in the first week the For Sale signs were erected, said to his partner "Someone should buy that and make sure it becomes a community resource". He is grateful to be given the chance to help.

IT Logistics

Will Wilkin

Alison specialises in youth development and education, in particular for those in SEND settings. Alison has years of arts and event management experience, running hospitality at the likes of The Bradford Playhouse and Bradford Brewery. Leading outreach programmes to engage with those struggling in society is core to what Alison believes in.

She also hopes her love of education, art, cocktails, cats, knitting circles, sequins and vegetables will lift up the offering that Otley Common will bring to the town and wider area

Youth Support / Events

Alison Torres

Tess is a vet, research scientist and teacher who has worked in small businesses, academia and industry. She has lived in Otley since 2009 and enjoys being involved in the music community as part of various bands, singing and dance groups.

She is keen to develop the historically important Otley Common buildings as a community hub catering to lots of different local people, especially those requiring plenty of space for activities.

Community Development

Tess Leslie

Gareth moved to Otley thirty years ago and has lived in the area for most of that time.

In the last few years he has undertaken project and programme manager roles for a range of organisations including the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar, Public Health England and the Health Research Authority.

He brings a range of skills including stakeholder engagement, project planning, negotiation, strategic development, grant making and budget management.

Gareth has been a Governor and Chair of Governors at a local Primary School and has volunteered with three local cycling and sustainable transport related organisations.

Governance

Gareth Durling

David moved to Otley fifteen years ago, drawn by its deep sense of community and its vibrant music scene. A mathematician by trade, he has worked for several decades as a software engineer delivering products to private and public sector customers around the world.

He is keen to see Otley Common succeed and make Otley an even stronger community than it already is.