ONE of the criticisms levelled at Leeds City Council over its plans to close schools in Otley was that the proposed sites were more valuable to potential developers.

Critics of the proposals demanded to know just how much the council stood to gain from the Victorian All Saints Junior school site - right in the centre of Otley.

One could almost imagine potential developers rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of converting the building into desirable flats.

But at the public meetings, called to discuss the proposals, education chiefs were quick to point out the building did not belong to the council. It was in fact the property of the Church and, as such, did not affect the council's decision process.

But now it seems the building is jointly owned, by the church and the council - and no-one is in a rush to claim total ownership.

The city council is happy to leave it to the Church, and the Church says it will leave it until the outcome of the proposals to pursue its (very probably expensive) legal inquiries.

But whoever does own the building will find themselves in a tricky situation. Both will be required to raise the most they can from the site and then be bound by law to distribute the money along lines set out by their own organisation - whether that means in Otley or not.

The reorganisation of primary schools in Otley is a very sensitive subject. Emotions are running high as parents realise their children's education is being meddled with.

At the end of the consultation schools will have to close - there are simply not enough children in the town for the number of schools. And whichever schools do close, there will be those who will be unhappy. We can only hope that the closures will not have a lasting impact on the town and breed discontent where before there was only unity.