24/01/2012 Look North (Yorkshire)

Find out what happened when Prince Charles had a chat with the world's

most famous umpire. We'll have live reaction here in

Sheffield at the city's Millennium Gallery. The

And 90 years old and still going strong - the historic picture house

that's been given a new lease of life.

A damp, misty night to come, but at least tomorrow should be a good

deal milder. The details coming up shortly.

Good evening. There will be no police action against four

children's nursery assistants in York arrested last estAugust.

Concern had been concerned about the quality of care at a nursery in

the city. Both police and council investigators were called in.

However, now the Crown Prosecution Service has advised no action

should be taken against the assistants. In a moment we'll be

hearing from the solicitor who is representing the owner of the

nurseries, but first, Kathy Killic reports.

It was in August last year that two nurseries fell into the spotlight

as six staff members were arrested. The allegations were not made

public, though police made clear it was not a case of sexual abuse. In

October two staff members were told they'd face no further action. The

other four remained on bail. In November they were asked to tighten

up. That has been done. Parents today reacted with relief for the

staff and some criticism of police and council's investigation.

I think it's appalling the way it has been handled as parents. We're

totally in the dark as to what's happened. I think for the staff

it's absolutely dreadful. It's such a relief to know everything has

been dropped. There was anything in any of our minds anything had gone

on. The children were always happy and playing. Mollie just wants to

stay and play with everyone. They're brilliant. They have been

second to none. It has been a difficult six months for the

nurseries. As a business, they have been badly affected by the cloud of

suspicion cast over them. The owner backed her staff from day one and

cooperated with the inquiry, but the authorities' duty to

investigate has come at a price to her business and her accused staff.

Joining us now is Mark Byrne, the solicitor for the owner of the

nurseries. First and foremost, the welfare of children in nurseries is

the first priority, isn't it? course, absolutely paramount. Lynne

has made her business the success it was by giving top-quality care

for 25-30 years now. She built her businesses on loving children.

Something has gone wrong. Indeed. I think Lynne would say she still

doesn't know. We don't know. Unfortunately, as it is, the

authorities can still maintain their silence. For Lynne it has

been the worst six months of her life trying to understand.

sorry to interrupt. Are you saying, then, the owner of the nurseries

and the four staff who remain suspended have no idea what they're

potentially being investigated for? No. Certainly Lynne does not

because I have spoken to her on a number of occasions. We were not,

it was agreed, to contact the four staff members, but I understand

when they have seen Lynne, they were questioned. No specific

allegations or detail was put to them. Do you find that incredible

as a solicitor? I do. I appreciate the police have a very difficult

role and a very difficult task whether any allegations are against

them with young children. That has to be paramount, but the

repercussions elsewhere has to be significant for Lynne, for all the

staff. I have attended a number of meetings. They have been in tears,

and the children - it has been a lot of disruption for the children,

which has been far from ideal. are those repercussions? I am

presuming she's lost a lot of children at the nurseries.

Understandably. Parents would decide very quickly, I am sure,

that the welfare of their child was paramount. Those who, I suspect,

had not had good-standing links with Lynne and the nurseries would

be inclined to appreciate that perhaps they would have to move.

You have heard from a number of parents, many who have stayed loyal,

many who have been with Lynne for many years and appreciate the

quality of service. It has been devastating for the service. There

is still an investigation going on - education experts - isn't there?

I understand there is scheduled to be a meeting on February 1

effectively now to oversee and summarise. Certainly at this moment

in time we do not expect any further significant action

whatsoever. On that basis, sadly, despite what's happened, the

quality of service Lynne has always provided we believe will be

vindicated. Having said that, this has gone on for months and months.

It has, and unfortunately, like it or not, because of the regulations,

because of the difficulties, everybody has had to get their

heads down, try and get on with it in the autumn with what I term a

sword of Damocles hanging over them. That has been tragic for everybody.

Next, were you in Barnsley for the Prince Charles' visit? If so, get

ready to spot yourself. There was a lot of flag waving in

Barnsley. There was. A damp day, but a lot of fun. It has certainly

been a day to remember. After dropping off to the offices of the

local newspaper, he met the legendary Dicky Bird himself. He

began in West Yorkshire with a rather steamy encounter.

An arrival in style - almost. No- one could ever say the Wakefield

station was fit for a Prince, but nonetheless it's where the heir to

the throne began his visit. One of the engine's first sad duties was

to pull the Prince Charles's funeral train for the South Wales's

grandfather. His first duty was to rededicate the train, built in 1951,

recently returned to steem, it has a new name for the Golden Jubilee

year. There are some famous faces involved in the restoration. It's

unbelievable. This was thought to be unreparable. This has been done

by young people. We had 30 apprentices on this job. It's a

win-win for everyone, very exciting. Then it was on to South Yorkshire,

but on roads. After meeting the staff at Barnsley's local paper,

His Royal Highness made time to meet the many who waited patiently

to greet him. What did he say? He said he's sorry

he hasn't been to Barnsley before. I was around the corner, and I had

to walk all over this place. I shook his hand. Ooh, wow! I am

feeling laibt nervous, and this is worse than waiting to go out and

start a test march. There was one particular son of the town waiting

to be bowled over - the legendary cricket umpire Dicky Bird waiting

under his statue. It has been a great pleasure for me to meet the

Prince again, Prince Charles. Is he a cricket fan? Yes. He said

to me, "I would like to see England do a lot better in this Test

series." I said I would as well. ease with young and old, there was

time for more hand shakes and waves before an engagement at the

university. Here his charity hopes to fund projects to get young

people into training or work. It's hard to believe it's his first ever

visit to Barnsley. It's had heritage, architecture, now

gardening - all subjects we know are close to his Har. Perhaps the

thing he'll be most interested to see here at Wentworth Castle is

this conservatory. A fair few shook hands and met the

man who will one day be King. In return, we gave the Prince a few

magic memories of his own. Bye! They have just seen themselves on

telly. I think Dicky had a nice day...

loved it. He had a tear in his eye. I guarantee he had a few tissues.

We love you lots. Still coming up. Turn up on time or face a fine -

should hospitals start charging the patients who waste millions of

pounds by missing their appointments?

Actually this afternoon there has been bad news for the city's

museums in Sheffield. They have actually missed out on �4 million

worth of funding from the Arts Council, money they say was needed

to make up a shortfall. Yes, Museums Sheffield will suffer

a 30% reduction in its budget from April 1. Boss say large scale

redundancies are now inevitable. A meeting is taking place this

evening at the Millennium Gallery where staff are being told what

this means. Dan, what's the mood like there? Yes, the staff are just

absorbing this news tonight. They're just leaving a meeting

where this news has been delivered. This is the city's Millennium

Gallery. This is the exhibition of Sheffield's finest silverware of

the steel city. It's exhibitions like that run across this gallery,

the Graves Gallery across the road and the Western Park Museum, all

run by the Sheffield Museum Trust. They were relying on a bid for �1.4

billion from the Arts Council, which they have found out has been

turned down. That means job losses. We're joined by Nick Dodd, the

Chief Executive. Not a good day. Not a good day. We're devastated

for ourselves, the people who work for us, and the citizens of

Sheffield who we believe are - PROBLEM WITH SOUND

More on that story at 10.25pm. Sorry about this. Slight problems

at the moment. We're going to actually bring you up to date with

some more of our stories which have been developing today. A 34-year-

old man has been arrested after the death of a five-year-old boy in

Wakefield. Police were called to a house in Aberford Road by

paramedics where they were treating the boy. The child was taken to

hospital but later died. Police have exhumed the remains of

an unknown woman in North Yorkshire. The body is now undergoing DNA

tests in the mortuary and will be reburied at the service in the

cemetery tomorrow. The search for a hill warker who

failed to return home to Skipton following a trip to the Cairngorms

has stood done. He went missing on Thursday.

Hospital bosss in Pontefract say doctors won't be used to staff

accident and emergency at night. They had discussions with the Trust

but say they came to nothing. The hospital has been closing at

10.00pm every night because of a shortage of trained doctors.

David Crompton has been appointed the new Chief Constable in West

Yorkshire. He replaces Med Hughes. The 2012 Leeds 10K is launched

today in the city. The event which attracts thousands of runners from

all over the country is organised by the Jail Tomlinson Appeal. It's

now a major fixture in the sporting calendar. It is an Olympic year.

Jane is an ambassador, so it's a bit poignant for us. We knew at

time June was doing this she wouldn't be alive when the Olympics

took place. Hopefully, we can Sorry we had some technical

problems which meant that we lost our reporter in Sheffield. He was

telling us about a 30% cut in funding for museums and art

galleries there. We are going to hand over to you again. This is

important for the city. It is. They expect cuts here. I

hope they had not stopped paying the enters the bills! A 30% cut in

the Budget after March - how his art gallery provision going to look

different after that? It is going to be very different. We can't

avoid the high levels of redundancies you have mentioned. It

will mean that a lot of the exhibitions and other educational

activities that we can only do will come to an end. We galleries have

to close? At this moment, we hope not. But

nothing is guaranteed. We are getting in touch with the Arts

Council to find out what they mean when they say that there's some

possible funding available to us. We don't know the rules on that yet.

But it will be serious,, what way - - come what may. The people of this

city would have benefited from public funding and resources which

will be taken away from them. We are already extremely poorly funded

as a city for arts funding. It is one of the lowest in the country.

Thank you very much. As you were hearing, this is going to have a

severe impact on arts funding in Sheffield. Bids for York and Leeds

have been awarded today. The Arts Council are saying that Sheffield

will get some money in the interim to help them adjust to these

changes. Just a reminder that we hope to

hear from the Arts Council at 10:25pm.

Is it time to actually start charging patients who fail to turn

up to their hospital appointments? Many private dentists have already

begun to do that. The Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb claims that probably it

is the only way to cut the massive cost to the NHS of scores of scores

-- and scores off missed appointment. Each one costs �70-

�100. Our health correspondent has the details.

In the NHS, they are known as the end -- did not attend. It has been

Our biggest hospitals now text or send people messages. But in

Sheffield, 77,004 what to turn up. In Leeds, it was a bigger problem.

In Bradford, the figure was 53,000. Nationally, young men are least

likely to turn up. But in Yorkshire, it is women and the worst offenders

are those in their twenties. Those in the 70s are the best attenders.

But should those who fail to cancel be fined?

They are wasting professionals' time. There's other people who want

appointments and they can't get them. So the least they can do is

turn up. And if not they should be punished? Definitely forced to

If I do not, dentist, I'm fine. I think they should.

It is wasting our time and their money. They should get fined.

Clear support there in Wakefield. But what do NHS trusts are think?

Fining has to be a final resort. Maybe we need to bear that in mind.

A lot of trusts are doing a lot of different things to try to

encourage people to remember when they have to attend. They also have

to think about when we schedule appointments and how we make sure

that people have all the information they need about why it

is important for them to get back to the hospital and let them know

if they cannot attend. But in the last instance, probably hospitals

have to bear fining in mind as a last resort. I have just had a text,

dentist to remind me about my point But on Thursday. Andrew, I will be

there. -- my appointment. Plenty of the have been with touch

Thank you very much for your comments. Before 7pm: Jetting off

in search of the Northern Lights - we join a planeload of Yorkshire

sightseers hoping for a spectacular show.

Steeped in history, it has a pass to be proud of and a future to look

forward to. Find out which a Picture House I have been visiting

A quick look at the sport. Doncaster Rovers' job of trying to

avoid relegation has been made more difficult. It has emerged that

James Coppinger is likely to miss the rest of the season because of

this incident at Bristol City. Yannick Bolasie is challenge has

It is incredible. He would have thought that a silent movie, The

Artist, it has had a lot of nominations and not a word spoken.

I hear that people have been asking for their money back in some places.

Let's take to now to a Picture House which was actually built at

the time when there was no such thing as talking pictures. It is

the heart of the Silent Movie Industry. For 90 years, the Picture

House her struggle to keep up with the times. A lack have -- of

funding has been it has missed out. It is all happening in Hebden

Bridge. The council has just taken ownership of the cinema. It means

the local community will get The 1960s boom in British cinema,

and every reason to celebrate in Sheffield as a state-of-the-art ABC

opened in the city. Sadly these scenes were short lived. It was

demolished in the 1980s, gone forever, like so many cinemas

across Yorkshire. Now, one that has survived the good times and the bad

is here in Hebden Bridge. But it has not been without its own drama.

The council-run Picture House first opened its doors in 1921, and has

been used as a cinema ever since. But over the years, it has

struggled to keep up with the times as technology advanced and meant

that a lack of funding kept the cinema in the past.

It has been upside down. People are not sure about their jobs and the

future of the Picture House. It is a close family. They want the

Picture House to run. And now things are looking up. The

town council took the step of taking over the cinema from the

district council. It has taken 12 months, but they are now

responsible for its future, mean they can do their own fund raided -

- fund raising to bring it into the 21st century.

It has been hard work in the past 12 months, all the meetings and

negotiations. But at the end of the day, the Picture House has come

back to its rightful owner, the town council. We are going to

preserve it for generations to come. And work on improvements has

already done. One of these projects will stay, but the cinema would

become digitised so modern films can be shown. It is hoped it will

continue to be a crowd-pleaser for I feel nostalgic now. Did you go to

your local cinema? I did, when I was a youngster. You could watch

two films and stay in or come around. Those were the days.

After the fantastic Northern Lights display on Sunday, heads have been

turned up to the sky across Yorkshire as people try to catch

another glimpse. Imagine how excited the 140 passengers were

last night he got on a rather special flight from Leeds-Bradford

airport. Spencer Stokes went with them in the hope that Mother Nature

would put on another spectacular celestial show.

On Sunday night, the Northern Lights came to Yorkshire. Last

night, Yorkshire went in search of the Northern Lights. 9pm, and a

specially chartered flight from Leeds-Bradford, and 140 passengers

getting away from the clouds and light pollution to increase their

chance of C McRae this phenomenon. These things I force of nature. We

might be lucky again tonight. The lights were dimmed and the

search began. Roses were presumably pressed against the windows. -- and

noses. These lenses show what was seen in the distance.

On the horizon, that is almost certainly be Northern Lights. We

have to keep our fingers crossed in the hope that it kicks off.

Last Night Mother Nature was not playing. No chance of seeing this

kind of spectacular display. Not the brilliant flashes that we

saw on television earlier, but we did get to see some elements that

we would not have seen otherwise. A bit disappointed not to see

anything spectacular. The display was not as bright as what we

expected, but certainly impressive. 24 hours ago, we had a fantastic

display, curtains and raised going up skyward. Tonight it was not as

good as that, but you never know. Another flight leaves tonight from

Doncaster, and with the solar eruption heading our way, the

prediction is there will be a Now two hours a lesser weather

presenter. Can I ask something stupid? How do you pronounce the

Northern Lights? It has a Latin name. Experts say there's a 50%

chance of seeing it tonight. But for the rest of us, it is going to

for the rest of us, it is going to be overcast. No point in looking at

the sky. This is how overcast it has been. This shows how low the

Keep sending them in. The headline for the next 24 hours is it is

cloudy but milder. Tomorrow, temperature should be in double

figures. But this weather front will bring some heavy rain on

Wednesday and Thursday. You can see the extent of it here. We have got

extensive fog on the tops of the Pennines. Further outbreaks of rain

tending to Peter out for the second part of the night. We will be left

with drizzle, though. Temperatures at their lowest now, three or four.

The sun rise in the morning is that 80 4:00am. -- is at four minutes

past eight in the morning. Most of us will have a dry day. A few

brighter spells around the middle of the day as the wind Figgins up

from the south, south-west. Tomorrow evening the wind may head

back to the West. Today we have struggled with temperatures.

Tomorrow we are looking at 10 Celsius. As we push into West and

South Yorkshire, it's a similar South Yorkshire, it's a similar