09/12/2013 Look North (Yorkshire)

the north and west. That's all from the BBC news at six.

Good evening, welcome to Monday's Look North.

On the programme tonight: a new era for electricity generation in

Yorkshire. Plans for a ?2 billion clean power station at Drax,

creating 2000 jobs with a revolutionary system to stop carbon

dioxide polluting the air. You can see this is a breakthrough

technology which would transform the UK's energy system, but also the

world's. But will it keep the lights on and

the bills down? We investigate. Also tonight: Britain's cheapest

supermarket. 500 families in Barnsley can buy top class foods at

a third of the price on normal shop shelves.

Find out what happened when Russell the crow was given the chance to fly

back into the wild after being nursed back to health in

Huddersfield. We'll be presenting the BBC

Yorkshire Sports Unsung Hero Award to the winner.

And many of you saw this sunset in Sheffield yesterday. Join me later

for the forecast. First tonight: the new era for

electricity generated here in Yorkshire. Plans have been announced

today for a new power station at Drax, fired by coal but with

advanced technology used to remove the harmful carbon dioxide gas. The

plant, which will be built on the same Drax site near Selby,will cost

?2 billion. It will provide clean electricity to more than 630,000

homes. Carbon dioxide will be captured on site and piped to the

North Sea. It could also lead to 2,000 jobs.

Drax was once one of Europe's's biggest polluters but it is only

mission to go green. Some other methods may surprise you. Rather

than abandon coal completely, it is investing its potential future.

Today the Government announced that it was backing those plans.

We're looking forward to developing this storage demonstration plant at

Drax but it is part of a longer`term solution. It is all designed along

the Humber Valley. We are creating the curb the network to be able to

extract that carbon and deliver it to storage offshore.

The brand`new coal `fired power station will be using the latest

carbon capture technology. Emissions will be sent underground through a

tunnel and to the North Sea. Instead of the CO2 going into the

atmosphere, 90% of the gas will be tunnelled out of the East Coast and

trapped beneath the sea bed. If we can capture the carbon

emissions from coal plants and store them safely, then we are not adding

to the climate change problem and it gives called a future.

But not everyone is convinced. They are false solutions because we

know that this will not deliver the reductions that we need to. We need

an investment in energy efficiency. And Drax itself is moving away from

coal. It has converted half of its generators to burn renewable fuel.

This is what all the fuss is about. This is biomass. It is like sawdust

squeezed into pellets. Millions has been spent on the project, which

uses leftovers from the forestry industry and is sustainable. But are

these advances going to cost more? All of the costs are already

factored into people's bills. There are no extra costs here.

What is for sure is that once it is complete, this will make Drax the

biggest renewable generator in Europe.

What implications could this have for Yorkshire's Caulfield?

As you heard, if this carbon capture technology storage works, it does

mean that Cole has a future. That can only be good news for the

coalfields. We now know that a lot of energy is generated by coal. Some

of that is coming from as far afield as Colombia and Russia. That is

because it is expensive. Today I spoke to UK coal. He has set that he

welcomes decarbonisation. The company are worried that we need to

stop and think. The pipeline that they are talking about which will

take the emissions to the North Sea will be built at the specifications

much bigger than they first thought. This means that big polluters could

tap into the pipeline and this will help them to get rid of their

emissions also. That is good news. I am sure it is not the last we will

hear of this. A supermarket that's said to be the

cheapest in Britain has opened in South Yorkshire today. It's called

'Community Shop' and the first store is in Goldthorpe, near Barnsley.

It's aimed at low`income households and the shop will be stocked with

cut`price food that other stores have thrown out. Shoppers will have

to have membership cards, which are only being issued to 500 poor

families. Dawn Robinson lost her job three

months ago. She is currently unemployed and the weekly

supermarket shop eats into her meagre income. Community Shop's

arrival in Goldthorpe is helping her get by at an expensive time of year.

When it comes to Christmas and pantomimes and things like that, and

the children want to go on trips, that money has to come out of that

?70 a week, so it's a tight budget. And the kids have to live on beans

on toast for the rest of the week. With these prices, they can still

eat fruit and have proper meals every day and go on the pantomime

trip too. Community Shop will buy heavily

discounted goods that the big retailers normally have to pay to

dump. The food is in`date, but might be discontinued or labelled up

wrongly. So food that would have ended up rotting in a landfill site

is now being bought by Community Shop's 500 new customers at around a

third of the original cost. These chocolate is art in`date, but

supermarkets do not want to sell them any more. These yoghurts simply

have a printing error. Each customer is a member of the

shop, allowed to join because they are struggling financially.

This is a very proud community, but one that has found life very tough,

really since the pit closures. For instance, we have some young mums

holding down two jobs. That's really tough, juggling childcare and work

and still not breaking above the poverty line. Products will change

every week. I would not have imagined they would sell things like

this. Community Shop want to open 20

stores nationwide, all providing cheap, quality food in deprived

towns. That is a brilliant idea. Later on Look North: the allotment

holders threatening legal action against the council's planned rent

increases. A woman's in hospital with serious

dog bite injuries after police were called to a property in Leeds. One

dog was captured and another removed from the house in Osmondthorpe. Joe

Inwood reports. It was just after 220 this afternoon

that police were brought to this property in Leeds. Reports of a

woman being attacked by her own dogs. I spoke to the neighbourhood

maybe 999: . `` need the 999 call. She is still pretty shaken up. She

said the police arrived quickly. Some of the police had guns. They

were tackling the dock at the back of the property and one was at the

front. I would not have them in my house.

They are vicious animals. I am horrified that someone was attacked.

The woman is 27 years old and is called Emma. The dog bite injuries

are serious. Teachers have been protesting

outside this special school. The effectiveness of the school was

found to be inadequate and trade unions feel there will be

redundancies at the school. I have worked here for several years

and it is a fantastic school. The staff are fantastic and it would be

a tragedy if it was closed. One of the stations for the new

Crossrail project in London is being built at a factory near Worksop.

Work is currently under way in the capital, building the new rail

transport system at a cost of ?14.8 billion. It'll have 38 stations and

link up Heathrow, the West End, City and Docklands. Large sections of one

station will be built at Laing O'Rourke's factory in Steetley then

transported more than 130 miles to East London and assembled on site.

Of the ?14.8 billion that's been spent to build Crossrail, some 97%

of it is with UK industries. We're very keen to see other parts of the

UK getting the benefit from that work. That will also be very

important for us when we come to build HS2.

Rail journey times between Sheffield and London have been cut from this

morning. The track has been improved so that trains can go faster. It's

cost ?70 million. And it will cut seven minutes off the average

journey time. The quickest train now takes two hours.

A school that lost part of its roof in Doncaster in high winds last week

remained closed today. The Head of Hayfield School in Auckley says

further assessments were due to take place today to identify the extent

of the damage. The school will stay closed for Years seven, eight, nine

and ten all week. But it's hoped parts of the site for Years 11, 12

and 13 will open from Wednesday. Campaigners against Sea Defences

near Scarborough's Spa Complex say they still don't want them after

Thursday's tidal surge. Cafes, pubs and shops were flooded in

Scarborough and Whitby after gale force winds and a spring tide

combined to create huge waves. The Borough Council wants to put rock

armour along a stretch of the South Bay to bolster defences. It says the

current sea wall there is deteriorating.

A group of allotment holders in Leeds have started legal action

against the council over planned increases to their rent. The Leeds

and District Allotment Gardeners' Federation operates allotments

across the city with members also providing produce to local charities

for free. The council says it will defend any legal action.

Michaela is 74. For the past 14 years, she's been growing her own

organic vegetables on this plot in Gledhow, in Leeds. But over the next

three years, her rent will almost double.

I do feel angry because if the rents go up I might have to think

seriously about giving up my piece of the allotment.

Right now, allotment owners across Leeds with a full plot will pay

?38.50 a year. In 2014 that will rise to ?58 a year. By 2016, that

will increase to ?72. The City Council says it needs to

put up the rent because of budget cuts imposed by the Government. But

the allotment owners are planning to take their fight to the High Court.

One of our members said last week: "I'm doing this for pennies. I'm on

benefits. I can't afford for the rents to go up." You've also got

people who legitimately cannot afford the rise because of other

commitments, for instance we have people on this site with young

families. Leeds City Council have told us they are disappointed by

this action and argued that there is no merit in taking this action and

it is likely to cost the public purse. The council says the increase

in rents is modest, but lawyers have put in an application for a judicial

review in the High Court, though the allotment owners say they would

still like to negotiate with the council and try to avoid a legal

battle. Still to come: we find out who's won

the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Sport now: only our Championship teams were in league action because

of second round FA Cup fixtures. We start our round`up at Elland Road,

for what was a thrilling match. Leeds may have thought it wasn't

their day, finding themselves 2`0 down at half`time against Watford.

But Elland Road came to life thanks to goals from Danny Pugh and Matt

Smith. Ross McCormack made it 3`2 to Leeds, but Watford equalised in the

dying minutes and it finished 3`3. Huddersfield striker James Vaughan

should've given his team the lead against Ipswich twice. Danny Wood

put the Terriers one`up and Adam Hamill came close to making it two.

But Ipswich scored twice to claim all three points.

Doncaster Rovers slipped closer to the relegation zone. Bongani Khumalo

came close for Donny but Bolton finished up 3`0 winners.

A single goal was enough to give Nottingham Forest a win at Sheffield

Wednesday. The Owls remain joint`bottom. Caretaker manager

Stuart Gray is expected to remain in charge for their next game.

Barnsley should still have caretaker boss, Mickey Mellon, in charge at

the weekend. Table`toppers Burnley took the lead. The Tykes nearly

snatched a point but Tomasz Cywka's free kick was saved. Barnsley prop

up the Championship table. Meanwhile in the FA Cup, Sheffield

United overcame a potential banana skin at non`league Cambridge United

yesterday. An early goal was what they needed and they got it when

Jose Baxter turned in Ryan Flynn's cross. The game was settled by a

fine solo effort in the second half from Jamie Murphy. He cut inside the

Cambridge defence and found the perfect finish to complete a 2`0

victory. That meant Sheffield United were our

only lower league side in the draw for the third round and they've been

rewarded with a trip to Premier League Aston Villa. Our Championship

sides are also in there but none have drawn top`flight opposition.

Now for a Yorkshireman who's on top of the world. Sheffield's Nick

Matthew is once again ranked number one in squash after victory in the

Hong Kong Open yesterday. Matthew first topped the world rankings in

2010 and has now won 27 career titles.

Next Sunday the BBC will host the BBC personality of the year.

Now we have a very special presentation to make on tonight's

programme to a man who's gone beyond the call of duty to put his sport

firmly on the map. Ian Watson from Castleford knew he

was in the running for the BBC Yorkshire Sports Unsung Hero Award,

but tonight we've got some good news for him: his tireless work at the

City of Leeds Synchronised Swimming Club has won him the award.

For 28 years, Ian Watson has been helping budding synchronised

swimmers in Yorkshire. He taught himself the techniques and created

an amateur swimming club at Kippax Pool. He now volunteers six days a

week six days a week and is Chair of two clubs in Leeds. He's also

developed the city's Synchronised Swimming Club, where the most

promising young people can flourish. Ian Watson is a man who is dedicated

to what he does. When he was suffering with cancer,

he still tried to come to training as much as possible. When he

couldn't drive, he got on public transport to make sure that he came

to the sessions still. He works tirelessly in volunteering, being

part of committees to facilitate synchronised swimming in this area.

I really think that without Ian and his vision, synchronised swimming

would not be where it is today in the North.

Ian has helped hundreds of people to learn the art and even financed

equipment at the club at his own expense.

I'm not out to produce a champion, I just want to produce the best that

the swimmer can be, irrespective of whether it is somebody who doesn't

get anywhere but enjoys it or somebody who gets an Olympic gold

medal. It doesn't make any difference to me.

Those he has helped say he is the best coach ever.

He doesn't tell you off if you do something wrong.

He's always helping us improve and he's always really friendly to us.

He likes to have a laugh! Ian is a man admired and respected

by those he works with and a man much loved by his sporting

community. We have actually invited Ian into

the studio tonight. We would like to give you this very special alert and

say congratulations! Now that we have sprung a surprise on you, how

does it feel? I am honoured to have received such

an award. We saw in the film that you

volunteer six days a week and you have paid for equipment and stop

what keeps you doing this? Just to see the children develop to

the best of their abilities. To see them enjoy the sport and some have

Olympic potential. You spent a long time and were

critically ill in hospital. To devote all this time to this sport,

Friday June want to do that? `` why did you want to do that?

It gave me something to do of an evening and it kept me going.

What kind of teacher is he? He is really good. He does not just

tell you what to do, but he has a sense of humour!

What does even's what mean to those who take part in synchronised

swimming? I have seen a massive change in my

daughter. She used to dance and then Ian spotted her potential at the

swimming pool. And now she is a synchronised swimmer. But he always

endeavours to develop every child who is there. He gives them

confidence and nurtures them. Thank you very much. You had better get a

taxi to! `` a tuxedo. When the producer rang me this

morning and mentioned that my story involved Russell Crowe, you can

imagine how excited I was. But as more details were revealed, it

became clear I wasn't going to film the Hollywood A`lister, I was going

to film Russell the crow, here in Huddersfield!

And this bird's story is nearly as dramatic anything his film star

namesake has starred in. He was found badly injured in the road last

year. Luckily, those who discovered him were students from an animal

care centre. They took him in, named him Russell and he has spent the

last 12 months in rehabilitation. He was a little fledgling so he

couldn't feed himself, he had broken wing feathers and I knew that if we

rescued him, we'd have to keep him a whole year. His flight feathers came

back in nicely but he developed cataracts in his eyes, so I couldn't

release him. The team here have cared for Russell

but pushed themselves not to get too attached, knowing he was destined to

go back into the wild. Trying to get hold of Russell to check that he is

fit enough to fly is a difficult task!

MUSIC: "Fly Away" ` Lenny Kravitz. So then the moment of truth. The

aviary was opened, but would Russell fly to freedom?

Russell the crow rose to the occasion and the staff here will be

hoping his story has a Hollywood ending.

I am sure it will have a happy ending. From one bird brain to the

weather forecast. Look at these magnificent

photographs. A fairly quiet spell of weather is

upon us. Some cloudy intervals. On Wednesday we will see some subtle

changes. The cloud will reluctantly clear. A little bit of sunshine

might come through. Overnight it will be dry with variable cloud,

perhaps even a touch of ground frost. The sun will rise in the

morning at 8:12am. Tomorrow will be a dry day. A south`westerly breeze

should help to break up the cloud. Some mist and fog first thing on

Thursday morning. That will clear. There is a risk of rain on Thursday

night into Friday.