02/02/2012 Look North (Yorkshire)

Welcome to Look North. Tonight... Are going hungry. Hundreds of

families in Yorkshire are relying on charity to put meals on the

table. It is a bit embarrassing sometimes but it helps. They are

very good. Without this, we would start. The final rallying cry.

Protesting against plans to extend an out-of-town shopping centre in

York. People are prepared to fight the out of town planners. The

favourite television vet is back with a new role. We have got

warnings for snow. All the very First, the growing need for food

banks as hundreds of families struggled to put food on the table.

Unemployment and benefit problems and homelessness are the main

reasons why take up has doubled and cupboards are best. In December in

Keighley, five and in 26 food parcels were handed out. Double the

amount the previous year. -- 526. In York, to 50. -- dithered and 50.

In Bradford, 200. -- 250. Here is our correspondent with the

Salvation Army in Keighley. Stocking up not add the fruit

market but at the food banks. This woman could no longer aboard all

the did she needed for her family. Each bag of supplies is free. It

has been a long and expensive month. It is a bit embarrassing sometimes

but it helps. They are here to help us. Without this, we would start

that. It is costing a lot? About �150 per week and even that does

not cover it. When I come here, it helps. The food bank is run by the

Salvation Army had operates twice a week. Food is handed to people in

need. People resort to that when income is too low or when benefits

are delayed. In December, five to six claims were made. Last time, it

was more than fix -- 600. -- 526 or stop --. With demand at an all-time

high, it is expected to have increased again in seven days.

Unemployment has historically led to a surge in demand and in the

1930s, the hungry turned to soup kitchens. In Keighley 80 years

later, food bank users get a free bowl of soup. I think they probably

do have a bare minimum. I did not think they are starving. They have

got a bare minimum but they need just a bit extra to get through the

week. It has been a busy winter at the Salvation Army in Keighley and

if unemployment increases and benefits fall, it is likely be

problems will be felt in food banks across Yorkshire in this year. We

are joined from Westminster by the Wakefield MP Mary Creagh, who

spearheaded a debate in the House of Commons about food poverty. How

bad is the problem? It is getting worse and it is a damning

indictment of the government's social and economic policy failures.

Thousands of people are relying on food handouts to feed themselves

and their children. But it is an international trend. It is not just

in this country. They cannot be blamed for that. But our prices

have gone up by more than any European country apart from Hungary.

Obviously the price of oil rises and that can make imports expensive

and the pound has fallen and that makes them more expensive. We need

government Antrim on tackling supermarket prices by introducing

adjudication by making sure consumers get the best deal when

they are spending. -- action. government has talked about Big

Society and they would say that was an example. We welcome the fact

that charities are helping people in their hour of need and helping

them through the crisis. But we do not want a return to the 1930s and

dependency on soup kitchens. This is the 7th richest country in the

world and it is a shame people are going to bed hungry in the region

tonight when we have got such abundance. Do you think the

solution is cracking down on supermarkets? Labour is in

opposition but we are working with big food companies and we are

hoping to talk to supermarkets about how they can recycle food

waste. Not things that they throw away in the back of the skips, but

perhaps they have ordered too much or they have had too much on

promotion which they can recycle to thin charities. Then they can get

them to hungry people instead of feeding them to animals or taking

them to landfill which is the worst Next, the continuing row about

plans to build an out-of-town shopping centre near York. Look

North understands developers behind a rival scheme have said they will

pull out if the Monks Cross project goes ahead. This happens as

protesters Boyce opposition to be out of town scheme. Here is our

correspondent in the centre of York. They are here behind me. That is a

committee of traders trying to work out how they are going to fight

these proposals. Going back to what Harry was saying about the rival

scheme in Castle Piccadilly, that is what �200 million. But the City

has wanted that for years. The developers have told made that not

only will they pulled out of that scheme but stable sell all of their

sites if the bugs cross plan goes ahead. That is a very loud shout

across growing boys is the opposition. -- Monks Cross. - and

voices of opposition. Worried science. Traders appeared expansion

of Monks Cross. A report says up to 17 % of existing trade could be

lost from the centre. That is worth �90 million per year. The expansion

of Monks Cross would mean more out- of-town shopping around York and he

made it all. But it will provide a nude facility for sports clubs. --

Meadow Hall. -- facility for sports clubs. We have not got any other

option. It has been fantastic for the past 10 years. They have been

very patient. But that is running out. If we have got any more delays,

we have got a chance that they will call him there are financial

support and we cannot pay that off unless we sell. For more than 10

years, the council has once did to redevelop this site. -- wanted. But

the developers had said they will pull out if mugs Cross goes ahead.

They will sell their assets and pulled out. -- Monks Cross. But the

group is determined. They have said that it means jobs, shoppers and a

stadium. The only way we can deliver a new community stadium

would community facilities, not just for the professional clubs but

also for York people, is to actually have this development.

They should complement each other. Monks Cross and the centre.

economy needs a boost. The signs are there for all to see. But the

problem is how. That is the argument about this development has

got the potential to impact upon a much bigger scale. I am joined by

the Managing Director of a local department store. Why are you

worried about this? I am worried about the effect on smaller

surrounding towns. Selby, Tadcaster, Pocklington. We are working on a

very finely balanced economy at the moment. Things are pretty tough. We

have got a lot of empty shops in surrounding towns and unfortunately,

the ease of parking in out of town centres drives customers away from

the small centres and other things are tough and I am frightened we

are going to lose jobs. What impact did you feel when that centre

opened? I think it did have an effect. But we have got a very

different economy then compared to now and for the next few years. But

that was certainly felt and this will certainly add to that impact.

Is the current economic climate will what is driving the process?

Did you think it would be all right if this came in four or five years.

This development could take the heart out of the local economy it.

I did not think anybody is against the Piccadilly development.

Everybody welcomes new investment in the town but I do not want to

see that diluted in new areas and possibly creating a new town centre

nucleus. Just to say that the weight of all schemes is that this

is such a big development that it is likely to face a planning

inquiry anyway. A pile decision could take years. -- final decision.

A Yorkshire favourite in his latest role, coming up later. Join me in a

few moments when I will be talking about my forthcoming performances

in the Diary of Anne Frank and recollecting my time when I was in

the York mystery plays playing Jesus. A jury has heard allegations

that two friends, whose bodies were found in Bradford were murdered

because one of them had been having an affair with a married woman.

Sabir Hussain is on trial at Bradford Crown Court for double

murder but the court has been told that the prime suspect is still at

large in Pakistan. Here is our correspondent. On a night in May

last year, the bodies of two men were found by passing motorists on

a road in Bradford. They had been brutally murdered. The killings

took place at this house, allegedly. The victim had been having an

affair with another person's white. The court was told that he will be

sentenced in due course for helping get an escape flight from Leeds-

Bradford Airport to Islamabad the day after the murders and the wife

has also admitted perverting the course of justice by making a false

statement. Also in the dock, another dependent charged with

helping to clean up the blood stained front room where the

murders took place at this House. The trial is expected to last up to

It has been another bleak day on the job front. 400 jobs have been

axed at Leeds City Council. Front line services will not be cut but

there are concerns these redundancies will not be the last.

Leeds is among the third authorities to reveal spending

plans and said one council tax will be frozen, �55 million of savings

must be found. How many jobs have been lost? About 1,500. We have

just had another 400 but we could have more than 600 more by 2015.

That could bring the total beyond 2000. It could get even higher.

Because if the government programme does not hit the deck as it

reduction target as they get another term in office, they have

got the right to continue with austerity. The council acknowledged

difficult times and it was a difficult decision but they are

trying to minimise the pain. have looked at redundancies but we

have sat down with staff and talk about the situation and they had

been prepared to make the changes and bring about efficiencies and

change working practices. Jobs are really important to people in this

And the union are very worried about this latest wave of

redundancies. This is what I was told a short time ago. I don't

believe councils can provide the same level of service in the long

term if the cuts continue as they are. I think they have to have a

complete a different economic plan coming down from central government,

because austerity is simply not working. If there is any good news,

it is that frontline services are protected for the next financial

deer and the council are looking at bringing and �50 million to attract

new business. Firefighters have spent the

afternoon tackling a fire at the University of York. It is believed

the blaze started at the chemistry department in the Heslington campus.

The campus was evacuated and it is thought everyone got out safely.

A date for a referendum has been set for a ballot for an elected

mayor in Doncaster. People in Doncaster first chose to have an

airing 2001. The repatriation of a soldier who

served with the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment has taken place.

Lance-corporal Gajbahadur Gurung was born in Nepal and don't be

Gurkhas before being posted to the Yorkshire Regiment in 2009. --

joined the Gurkhas. He died in Helmand Province on Friday.

Coming up: We will catch up with this lady.

I have been cooking school dinners for 50 years. Find out what is on

the menu at later on tonight on the programme.

She looks quite a character! As well as having a host of potential

Olympians, Yorkshire is also home to a number of national training

centres that attract the best athletes from all over the country

a. The Leeds weightlifting squad is based there and one of the team is

a bomb with a very special reason for wanting to qualify for the

Games. -- a woman. Natasha is one of eight elite

weightlifters based at Leeds Metropolitan University. She is

from squandered -- Swansea but moved here to give us of the best

chance of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. I moved to Leeds for the

coaching. We get good medical support and training with the team.

There is a family legend that says Natasha is descended from the

native American Indian poker hunters. What we know with greater

certainty is that she is related to a two-time Olympic weightlifter.

That is my father. I keep him in my training programme. On down days, I

give him a glance and crack on. Natasha has to keep an eye on the

clock. Her living costs are not funded and she has to work to earn

a living. The first training session of the day is squeezed in

during her lunch hour. But the lifting does not stop at work.

Natasha is employed by Leeds Council at one of their rescue

centres. It is not glamourous but she does not care - her motivation

is clear. I want to make my father proud. He has passed away and if I

can be in the Olympics. He came top 10, so if I came 9th, I am a winner

myself. Natasha's goal is to lift the qualifying weighed before or

during the British championships in May, to be certain of going to the

Games. Only then can she complete her journey and follow her father

on to the Olympic stage. Have you ever done weightlifting?

Not like that! They debate about who will replace

Simon Grayson as Leeds United manager is continuing. There are

one or two candidates we can eliminate. Despite the odds to the

contrary, we understand that Lee Clark, the Huddersfield Town

manager, has no intention of leaving for Elland Road. Gus Poyet

has already ruled himself out. He is staying put in his job at

Brighton for the foreseeable future. The Doncaster Rovers have extended

the contract of El Hadji Diouf. He joined the team at the end of

October and scored twice against Ipswich in his second match for the

club. He has signed a six-month deal with the option for a further

year, depending on whether it be team avoid relegation and stay in

the championship. He is still one of the country's

most popular and best loved actors. Christopher Timothy, James Herriott

to us, is back in York, rehearsing for his role in The Diary of Anne

Frank, which starts in a couple of weeks' time. The success of All

Creatures Great And Small made him a star and landed him the role of

Jesus Christ in the York mystery plays of 1980. Those plays return

in August this year and he is pleased to be back in the city.

It gives you a warm glow just to hear the theme tune and for

Christopher, he loves the association. I just have to get

this rope behind his ears to stop his neck from a telescoping.

I am very proud. We all are. Everything that has happened

subsequently has been because of that. Everything. That is why I am

playing Otto. Maybe they are thinking, "let's see if he can do

it". It is a very bad time to be interviewed about a play am about

to do, because I still don't know what I am doing! He does, of course.

He is in love with the Theatre Royal. A to stand on that stage, it

is wonderful. It is a pantomime stage, isn't it? Oh, no, it isn't.

Oh, yes, it is. The people who are furthest away are not that far away,

whereas here, I know they are high up but the distance is not much

different. York hold a special place in his heart because of this.

It was imperative that I played something very different. It is

about as different as you can get. It is ace, really.

Best job I have ever had, bar none. But he only got the role after

reading about it in the newspaper and literally running round and

knocking on doors at the last minute. The reaction he got was

blunt. "you want to play Jesus, do you"? I didn't like the way she

looked at me. I asked if she didn't think I could do it. She said, "as

long as I did want a pretty Jesus". This is my blood of a New Testament

which has shed for many. What about the mystery plays in 2012, which

went involved 1,500 people from your? -- will involve. I have never

experienced anything like it. I experience camaraderie in all my

jobs but never have I known anything like it.

Which of us are the principal? mystery plays are back in the

Museum Gardens, where he played Jesus 32 years ago.

He is really excited about that. They are going to announce to the

professional actor will be and they will play the part of Jesus and God.

It is one further than Christopher played! He was talking about it

being very special. Lovely to have it back in Yorkshire. He is over

70! The he looks great. Nora Callaghan has cooked over one

million school dinners for the children of Pudsey near Leeds for

five decades. She has been cooking up classics like jam roly-poly and

shepherd's pie. Today, her current crop of children thank their dinner

lady for her commitment and her delicious food.

Treacle pudding was always good but the thing we hated was semolina.

used to have tapioca with jam in. We like that. The worst thing was

blancmange. I hated blancmange. all have school dinner memories,

but this lady has more than most. Nora Callaghan has been cooking

school dinners at centre basis school in Pudsey for 50 years. She

started in 1962, retired in 1999 but has carried on as a volunteer

for the past 13 years. -- Sen Joseph's school. I come here

because of the other women. We have a laugh and they say that you are

they use it or you lose it. We have a good laugh. They are all having a

laugh! It is really good. winner Nora started, Jamie Oliver

was barely a glint in his parents's' eyes and no meal was

complete without large - and lots of it! Now, Nora's meals are

nutritionally balanced and freshly prepared daily. She comes in and is

as light she takes over the place. She takes over my job and tells me

what to do! She is fantastic. are really soft, those carrots.

Among the children are eating their chicken curry today are the sons

and daughters of children Nora served in the past. She hasn't

changed! She still looks the same. She must look after herself. Tell

them what I used to do with you. you were not complied, she used to

bang her Bix boom on the table and shout. She is really nice. I would

not say no to any of the meals she gives us. They are really delicious

and tasted. There we go. Two Nice puddings. Would you like to come

round, Nora? Well, no. Let's give Nora a big round of applause.

you very much. Thank you. What do we always say to our dinner ladies?

Thank you, dinner ladies! 50 years on, Nora plans to carry on her

cooking - and pupils are very grateful.

That looks to Mrs! My favourite school meal was Spam fritters.

Quite a few people in York have been congratulating me on creating

We have some snow on the way. York could be very interesting on

Saturday. Let me show you some pictures that set the scene for

what might lay ahead this weekend. I love this picture. This one sets

the scene very nicely for some snow this weekend. You can keep your

pictures coming in. You can keep in touch with me on twitter. Here is

the warning that the Met Office have issued this afternoon. It is

an early snow warning. It has been remarkably consistent. Later on

Saturday and into Saturday night, we will see snow spreading in from

the West. It could be five to 10 centimetres in the east. In the

short term, it is looking fairly straightforward. Tomorrow will be

cold and crisp. If you like walking in the hills, it will be fantastic

looking with blue skies. Where the two weather features meat, there

will be some snow. The snow has been trickling into the coast.

Apart from a bit of dusting on the grass towards the coast, it has not

caused any problems, but we start the evening on a cloudy note.

Further snow flurries towards the coastal strip. Gradually, the cloud

will melt away from the West and it will be the coldest night of the

week. Some Pennine spots might see temperatures down to minus seven

Celsius. Frost just about Tomorrow looks like a lovely day.

Lots of sunshine a round but a very frosty start. Patchy cloud will

move away. High cloud makes the sunshine a little on the hazy side.

It will be cold with a light and variable breeze from the West. The

North York Moors, the Yorkshire moors and the Pennines will stay at

zero all day long. In York, Leeds and Sheffield it may get up to two

Celsius. Back into the frost quickly tomorrow evening, then it

looks like Saturday-morning should be dry macro but cloud and snow