If you’re thinking of opening a business… you’ve come to the right place!
Otley is the small West Yorkshire market town with a big heart…
Steeped in history, Otley dates back to Saxon times, and traders have long come here to make their fortunes: Otley was one of the first towns in the country to be granted a market charter almost 800 years ago.
Its location, bridging the Yorkshire Dales and cosmopolitan Leeds, gives it easy access to both the city and some of the UK’s most beautiful countryside.
London is just 2.5 hours away by train from Leeds, while international travel via Leeds Bradford Airport is but a short drive away in neighbouring Yeadon. (Which nicely for us means we get the advantage of airport without the noise!)
When it comes to customers, there are more than 14,000 people in the town and some 2.4m on our doorstep in the wider West Yorkshire area, so setting up here offers access to a vast market.
Most of all though, we have community spirit and pride. People pull together here to make Otley the best place it can be.
Come and join us and be part of it.
Otley by numbers
We like to be guided by data and we’re sure you feel the same way about your business. It’s why we annually commission People & Places to produce a Town Benchmarking Survey for us. Here are some highlights:
- 2.4m people live in the wider West Yorkshire area, with over 1m of them living within a 10-mile radius of Otley.
- Impressively, when asked On a Scale of 10 (High) to 1 (Low) how likely Town Centre Users would be to recommend a visit to Otley the average score was 9 out of 10.
- Market day footfall is the highest it’s been since 2020 when we started benchmarking and well above the market towns average. Footfall is increasing on Saturdays and there is a slowing trend of weekday footfall which reflects the change in demographic towards young working families.
- Vacant units are at their lowest point since we started benchmarking and are just fractionally lower than the national average.
- Independents make up 3/4 of our high street offer which is 14% above the national average.
- Town users is an interesting metric with 41% of weekday users being workers of whom 75% come from out of town, 21% are residents and 38% are visitors and tourists from out of town.
Download the latest benchmarking survey here
Business areas
Bay Horse Court
Off Boroughgate and by the Bay Horse pub is a small ginnel that leads to this quaint open courtyard of shops.
Bondgate/Gay Lane/Leeds Road
Bondgate is one of the town’s historic thoroughfares and has a number of independent shops. It turns into Gay Lane as it heads out of town towards the Chevin or Leeds.
Boroughgate
The main thoroughfare through Otley is home to an eclectic array of shops, restaurants, cafés and takeaways.
Kirkgate
Another central, historic street, Kirkgate is home to Otley Parish Church, the Navvies’ Memorial and the Victorian covered Kirkgate Arcade.
Manor Square, Clapgate & Bridge Street
Leading out of town towards the River Wharfe, Newall and Clifton, this small shopping area is home to some real hidden gems.
Market Place
Historic cobbled Market Place is the heart of the town. Home to our iconic Jubilee Clock, it plays host to a market three times a week, as well as a monthly specialist farmers’ market.
Maypole & Cross Green
The area around Otley’s Maypole is home to a selection of shops and boutiques.
New Inn Court
Tucked away in buildings on the west side of New Market is this open courtyard of hidden gems.
New Market
Despite its name, New Market is anything but new. This pretty, central street that joins Bondgate and Market Place is lined with stone Georgian buildings. Many of their ground floors are home to some of Otley’s quirkier and most original shops.
Newall
Newall lies on the north bank of the River Wharfe, across Otley Bridge from the central area of the town.
Orchard Gate
A central, premier shopping area in the heart of town, Orchard Gate is home to unique businesses from pet shops to specialist drinks outlets, as well as the Town Council offices, bus station and public (and accessible) toilets.
Riverside
Otley’s riverside is not commercialised, but there are several businesses located there including a high-end Italian restaurant and (during summer) Otley Boats for rowing on the Wharfe.
Station Road
The street that leads to what was Otley Train Station and the Chevin beyond is a mainly cobbled road with a number of unique and specialist businesses.
Westgate & West Chevin Road
Popular streets, one heading out of town towards Menston, the other up towards the Chevin.
Wharfebank Mills
Heading out of town towards Menston and Ilkley, Wharfebank Mills is a historic converted mill that is home to a variety of different businesses.
Winners breed winners
Otley is the birthplace of a number of stars. World Champion Cyclist Lizzie Deignan (neé Armistead) took her first rides on the slopes of the Chevin, while 18th century cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale was also born in the town, as was former England rugby star Mike Tindall. Many of our businesses grab first place in their respective fields too. Here are just some of the great people, organisations and companies you could call your neighbours if you decide to open your business in Otley.
Yorkshire Pecorino, which makes artisan cheeses in the heart of town after starting life in a garage in nearby Adel has won multiple awards over the years.
Artisan Bondgate Bakery was the winner for the Best Small Retailer in the BBC Food & Farming Awards and has also won Best Baker at the Farm Shop & Deli Awards, as well as a host of local gongs.
Disability blogger Chloe Tear has been voted into the Shaw Trust’s Power 100 list, which recognises influential disabled people, and she’s worked with MPs to bring about change for disabled people. She was also a finalist in the 2019 UK Blogger awards.
The Otley Burger Company, now resident at the Otley Tap House pub’s fabulous beer garden in its 1950s-style airstream trailer received the Good Food Award for Takeaways 2021 and was a Finalist in the National Street Food Awards 2025.
The Black Horse Hotel, taken over in a collaboration between Kirkstall Brewery and the Brudenell Social Club picked up the Winter Pub of the Year 2020 by the West Riding Branch of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood.
Content marketing agency Engage Comms, based in the Wharfebank Mills development, won a gold award in the 2019 CIPR Pride Awards, and was shortlisted in the Agency of the Year category of the Association Excellence Awards 2024.
Arundel Travel on Manor Square has twice been voted Yorkshire Travel Agency of the year by industry bible Travel Trade Gazette. The category award is fiercely contested.
Prince Henry’s Grammar School has been voted Leeds secondary school for the year three years running (2023, 2024, 2025) and is recognised as Outstanding by Ofsted. Former head Janet Sheriff who is now CEO of the regional Collaborative Learning Trust received an OBE in the 2021 honours list. She received the award in recognition of her services to education in West Yorkshire.
Multi award-winning Otley Sailing Club received the 2019 Duke of York Community Initiative Award in recognition of its Sailfree programme. The volunteer-run scheme allows young people with disabilities and complex learning needs to enjoy the sport. It was also awarded a Sunsail Funding the Future Award in 2025.
We love a good pork pie in Otley and all three of our butchers produce award-winners. Everyone has their own favourite, so choose from Middlemiss, Weegmanns or Wilkinsons. You won’t be disappointed.
Otley is a great place for your employees to live too!
There’s a vibrant nightlife scene. Otley’s pubs were the first to be protected by the first townwide blanket Asset of Community Value status. At one point Otley had more pubs per capita than any other town in the country.
Great for workers, Otley benefits from enjoying the quality of life of a semi-rural market town with affordable and conveniently situated accommodation, both domestic, retail and commercial. The average house price in Otley is £327,195 (Rightmove March 2026). Flats average £253,429 and terraced houses £286,481) (Zoopla, March 2026) although entry level can be well below these levels.
For life outside work VisitOtley.co.uk contains details of local sporting, shopping and cultural activities with suggestions as to some of the many outdoor pursuits available locally with access to Wharfedale and the Yorkshire Dales and its various picturesque towns and various outdoor recreational opportunities.
Otley is known for its calendar of community led cultural events & festivals with events such as Otley Show, Carnival, cycle races and Victorian Fayre and festivals of walking, beer, town criers, folk music and science amongst others punctuating the calendar.
A caring town, child, elderly people and pet support is especially well catered for.
Prince Henrys School with its specialist language college, was established in 1607.
With a population of around 14,000 Otley is a comfortable and manageable size and scale, with the nearby economic and cultural powerhouse of Leeds in the order of 798,000 (ONS) with the wider city region 1.8 million, the third largest city in England and, according to Barclays UK Prosperity Map, the 6th richest city in the UK.