AN OTLEY councillor is urging the public to let their feelings be known about a new “eyesore”’ in the Conservation Area.

Large concrete blocks have recently gone up around the car park of the closed Woolpack pub, on Bondgate, sparking anger in the town.

Enterprise Inns, which owns the building, insists it only installed the barriers after it was asked to take action to stop lorries parking on the site by a councillor,.

A spokesman said: “The low level concrete bollards were erec-ted as a temporary measure at the request of a local councillor to stop large vans and lorries parking on the site.

“If the bollards are deemed to be unsuitable as a short term solution we will, of course, liaise with the local council to find an alternative solution.”

Resident Alan Sowden, however, who runs a plumbers merchants, contacted the Wharfe-dale & Airedale Observer to express his anger at the move.

He said: “I am absolutely incensed having passed the Woolpack pub in the town centre this evening to find that the car park has been surrounded by motorway concrete barriers.

“They look absolutely atrocious and, with the fence around the Bowling Green pub, the town centre looks like Baghdad.

“Maybe your readers would like to join me in asking what the justification is in having such barriers and the question, I suppose, is who if anybody gave permission for them?”

Councillor Colin Campbell (Lib Dem, Otley and Yeadon), meanwhile, has raised the matter with Leeds City Council enforce-ment officers. He said: “I am disgusted with Enterprise Inns for putting concrete blocks up which are creating an eyesore in this part of the conservation area. I feel it is unsympathetic and short sighted.

“If they wish to protect their property then they could have done it in a much more sympathetic way that would better reflect on the town, where we didn't have an eyesore which obviously impacts on local trade.

“I went to look at the site on Wednesday morning and immed-iately afterwards contacted the council’s enforcement department to ask that we take whatever action we can to have these blocks removed.

“I would also like to ask all of your readers to write to Enterprise Inns to say ‘you have created an eyesore in the centre of Otley, please can you remove the concrete blocks’.”