“Over the past few months we have been ask by dozens of people, ‘what has happened to this years show and why is it not going ahead?’ I feel that it is only right to explain what happened last year, and then the people know the truth.”

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“Many things have been said and written about why the Otley Vintage Transport Extravaganza (O.V.T.E.) will not be held this year, and the one held in September 2023 could very easily be the last one. Here is the whole story, just as it happened.

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On 14th June ’23 we paid a cheque to Wharfedale Farmers Auction Mart for the sum of £200 for use of the fields at Knotford Nook, Pool Road, Otley to stage the O.V.T.E. Our plan was to go onto the fields on the Thursday before the event and get the grass cut. Friday usually we put down four tons of hard-core gravel on the entrances and cut down the nettles and weeds. Then we start putting in the 500 metal pins and wooden stakes. Saturday, we finish putting up the tents, gazebos and tapping off the various areas. On Sunday, we open at 7 am to let the stall holders, vehicle owners, etc in. By 4.pm it is all over, everything is taken down and packed back in place for the next rally.

 

From early July, we knew something was wrong when the farmer who rents the land put approx. 25 cows in the two car park fields. We had no idea that this was going to take place, but at least the main show field was clear of cows. We then found out that Arthington show was to be staged in the next field (which we understand is owned by the Ogden family) in August, and they required two of the fields we use for car parking. We tried on several occasions to contact the Committee of Arthington Show, and suggested that they used one of our car parking fields and our show field for their car parking, leaving the other car park field for putting the cows in. They never got back to us till about 3 days before their show. In the meantime, the farmer, in early August moved the cows into our show field. Had Arthington show, the Auction Mart and the farmer had a meeting with us, we could have sorted everything, as mentioned previously.

 

After Arthington Show held their event, we were then confronted with a major problem how could we stage the O.V.T.E in a field that was covered in cow mess. I went to see the Auction Mart and the farmer. The farmer made it very clear that he could not care less about what happened to the O.V.T.E. I asked about cutting the grass very low in the hope we could get away with staging the event by spreading the cow mess around the field in the hope that the field might ‘dry out’ before the show day but they refused and would not allow any grass cutting on the site.

 

We were 8 days away from staging the event, and I consulted the other safety officer. He agreed that there was no way we could stage the O.V.T.E on that field. There was only one solution and that was to move the show. We approached the businessperson who rents the field from the Ogden family, and he agreed that we could use it for another £600. We had to take up his offer, as to cancel the show, would mean paying out about £7,000. Then on telling him we would reluctantly pay his fee; he then demanded a further £200, raising the rent for our one day show to £800.

 

The entrance to the field was waterlogged and unfit to use. There were large holes where a small cattle ring had been. These that had been filled in with straw and so we had to order 8 X 1 ton bags of hardcore and crush to restore the field and make it useable. Three bags were spread around the entrance, two bags in the cattle ring area to fill in the holes and one bag to improve the other entrance to the field. The other two bags were used to fill in the holes on the drive up to the sewage woks as there were some very large holes in this area.

 

In total, without the grass cutting, it cost us almost £1,200 to hire a field for one day and three days to prepare the fields to make them fit for use. We had to ask our unpaid volunteers (men and women) to move 8 tons of hardcore, which, as you will agree, is not acceptable.

 

Also, around this time, we had the death of our co-founder of the O.V.T.E Colin Pitt, who was my father-in-law, Diane’s father and Callum’s Grandfather. My committee has had many health problems, one member has suffered cancer, another must have injections just to walk without pain, another is 87 and wishes to retire and one other member has permanent pins and needles spreading up his arm to his head!”

 

As Chairman of the O.V.T.E. I was hopeful that, had common sense prevailed, and we had all worked as a team to sort out the forementioned problems that we could have staged the 2024 Otley Vintage Transport Extravaganza, again at Knotford Nook, and continued to support many organisations and community groups that have benefitted from the event over the last 25 years. Who knows what the future holds? If we have a meeting with the other parties concerned, and if some more Committee members come forward or even a car club will commit to fully helping to stage the event with us, then there may be a 2025 Otley Vintage Transport Extravaganza. Please contact us on the details at the bottom of this page.