Otley's former cinema is to be demolished - dashing the hopes of campaigners who fought to save it.

The 60-year-old art deco building, until 1997 the Royal Bingo Hall, will be knocked down to open up access to the nearby Ashfield Works.

But Otley has won a second campaign - to convert the former magistrates court buildings into a community arts centre - after city council bosses agreed to hand it over to Town Council control.

Both decisions came at a closed meeting of Leeds City Council's employment and economic development committee.

Ward Councillor John Eveleigh, a member of the committee, said: "By and large this is a very positive outcome. Instead of having two buildings doing nothing, now we will hopefully have an arts centre along the lines of what people have been calling for."

But the demolition of the Beech Hill building comes as a blow to many people who sought to reopen it as a cinema or a centre for events like the Otley Folk Festival.

Richard McFarlane, folk festival organiser, said: "A lot of people, not just the folk festival, were hoping the building would be retained.

"It's a sad day for everybody. It's sad to see a building of that stature disappear because nothing in the town has the same capacity or could replace it."

Now the town council will begin negotiations with the Leeds Development Agency (LDA) - the property arm of the city council - to transfer ownership of the magistrates court.

Coun Eveleigh said: "The town council will be working with Arts for Otley and the cinema group to see what we can do, but we are moving in the right direction and this will be the solution to most of our concerns".

The transfer will not take place immediately as the court building is being used by Otley's 'one-stop' shop council offices while their premises on Boroughgate are refurbished.

A move to town council control is likely to take place in early 2000, giving councillors and members of Arts for Otley time to work on a lottery bid to provide funding for the arts centre.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.