Mulholland Calls for Otley Hotel

12.27.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 12th Oct 2009

Greg Mulholland, Member of Parliament for Leeds North West, has called on Enterprise Inns to help to ensure that The Black Horse, a large Pub in Askwith, near Otley, is sold to hoteliers.

Greg wrote to the PubCo to urge them to help the Otley Town Council and Otley Town Partnership's drive to promote tourism in Otley.

Commenting Greg said:

"Efforts are being made by the Town Council and Town Partnership to promote tourism in Otley, already progress has been made and I commend them on this.

"We are all agreed, though, that Otley desperately needs a decent hotel and the news that the riverside development will not have one is a blow. Dowgill House is a wonderful edition to Otley and Tim and Helen have done a fabulous job creating a high quality guest house, but they only have four rooms and I met many visitors during the folk festival who had to stay outside the town.

"There is now one obvious place for a genuine, good quality small hotel and that is the Black Horse. It would take real investment, but could become Otley's landmark coaching inn, the way the White Horse was many years ago.

I believe the only way this will happen is if Enterprise Inns, who are currently reviewing their Otley pub estate, agree to sell the Black Horse to someone who can make it into a proper hotel as well as having an attractive pub downstairs for locals and residents alike. This is an opportunity that Otley cannot afford to miss".