Campaigners are urging the owners of Otley’s former Bridge End cattle market site to respect the “desire of the town” and restore the site to nature.

Leeds City Council has issued an enforcement notice on the landowner, meaning the long-running saga could soon come to an end.

The notice tells landowner Parkmount Estates it must take action at the site within two weeks or face punishment which could include a fine of up to £20,000, with the Council carrying out the work and recovering costs, or even a prison sentence.

The notice requires the owners to secure the perimeter fencing and then prepare the site for grass seeding.

The notice comes after a planning inspector had previously ruled the owners should grass the site if they failed to get planning permission before February 2009.

The battle over the site has been running for several years with plans to build houses and then a 30-space car park facing strong opposition from the council, Otley town council and the Conserve Otley Riverside Campaign (CORC).

But fears over flooding ruled out any development, while there were also concerns about the visual impact on the town.

Now CORC wants the firm to return the site to nature.

Otley resident and CORC member Randal Metzger said: “Many residents view the derelict site as an eyesore in our community landscape. CORC believes that Parkmount Estates should respect the overwhelming desire of the city council, town council, community organisations and Otley community for the owner to comply with the latest restoration order without any further delay.”

The cattle market site is a focal point of the riverside stretch of Otley Conservation Area, in the middle of Otley’s riverbank green corridor for wildlife.

No-one at Parkmount Estates was available for comment.