NO matter which side of the debate you come down on over the increase in housing that's taking place across Aireborough, the need for improved public transport seems clear-cut. Communities the size of Guiseley and Menston simply can't keep taking large new schemes like those set for the old High Royds and Silver Cross sites without serious repercussions for the area's infrastructure.

The main routes into Leeds, especially the A65, are already very busy yet little seems to have been done at a local, as well as national level to actively encourage people out of their cars and onto the trains. Councillors and MPs from across the political spectrum have been highlighting the problems of insufficient parking and a lack of rolling stock at stations like Menston and Guiseley for years.

But Councillors Brian Cleasby and Graham Latty are quite right to turn the pressure up once more, in this post-election aftermath, to demand new park and ride and shuttle bus facilities big enough to make a difference. We have all heard enough talk about the need for 'joined up' public transport. Now, as the number of commuters in the region looks set to swell, it is time for the train and bus companies, Metro, and Leeds City Council to deliver.

IT'S been an interesting and often controversial year for Otley Town Council. There's been Otley Civic Centre and its future - do people want it retained as a public building, or would they like to see it replaced with a new, purpose built centre?

Then there's the Jubilee Clock - soon to be repaired at a cost of possibly up to £100,000. Do people want it repaired, or would they, as some have suggested, rather see the money spent on a new watch for everyone in the town? Over the months, councillors have argued endlessly about these and other matters at council meetings - mostly on their own. But on Monday, at the annual parish meeting at Otley Civic Centre people will have their yearly opportunity to put their elected representatives on the spot, ask questions and demand answers. It is too good an opportunity to miss.