26/06/2013 Look North (Yorkshire)

On the programme tonight... He was battered to death with a pick-axe

handle. Alan Greaves was attacked on his way to church on Christmas Eve.

Today the prosecution began against one of the men accused of his

murder. Also tonight... 10% cuts to local

council budgets. We assess the impact that George

Osborne's spending review has already had on local services.

And driven out by bats - how EU rules are preventing this ancient

church from being used by its congregation.

And we are alive here in Wimbledon where Sheffield Jonny Marray will be

defending his doubles title. And we will have the weather

First tonight, a court has heard that a church organist from

Sheffield attacked on his way to mass on Christmas Eve was a murder

victim by chance. Prosecutors say if it hadn't have been 68-year-old Alan

Greaves, it would have been someone else. One of Mr Greaves' alleged

killers Ashley Foster has gone on trial denying his murder. Another

22-year-old man Jonathan Bowling has already admitted the killing. Our

Crime Correspondent John Cundy reports.

Surrounded by her family, Maureen Greaves was in court today to see

one of the men accused of her retired husband's killing go on

trial. Last Christmas Eve, Alan Greaves had been following his

routine of 40 years walking the short distance from his home in High

Green, Sheffield, to play the organ at St Saviour's Church midnight

mass. But this time, he became the victim of a savage street attack

allegedly by two local men. He was battered across the head with a

pick-axe handle. The prosecution say robbery was not the motive. Nothing

was taken from Mr Greaves as he lay severely injured in the street.

Ashley Foster is on trial. He denies murder. The other man, Jonathan

Bowling, has admitted the killing. The prosecution claimed that these

two men are just looking for someone to attack on Christmas Eve. If it

had not been Alan Greaves, it would have been somebody else. It is

alleged they followed him along this road, assaulted him, and ran off

across this part laughing. Mr Foster said he had nothing to do with the

attack and blamed it on Jonathan Bowling. CCTV footage was released

filmed in the area on the night. The two men were identified from the

footage by members of the local community. Mr Foster went to the

police on January the 8th and the following day, Jonathan Bowling was

arrested. Witnesses for the prosecution have now begun giving

evidence and the trial of Ashley Foster is expected to last three

weeks. Next tonight, what does the

Chancellor's Spending Review mean for us here in Yorkshire and

especially for our councils? George Osborne says he'll fund local

authorities to freeze council tax for two years. There will be a �2

billion growth fund which regions can bid for. We'll have more details

about that when they're made public tomorrow. But councils have also

been told that from 2015 they'll have 10% less to spend. That's on

top of cuts they've already made in the last three years.

Since the last spending review in 2010, more than 12,000 council jobs

in Yorkshire have gone. And across the region, our local authorities

have already made savings of more than �750 million. So how have they

done it? Well one of the most visible cuts has been to our

libraries. In Yorkshire, Look North knows of at least 24 that have

closed. A further 34 libraries are now being run by groups of

volunteers. And in Sheffield, 14 others remain at risk of closure.

And there are likely to be more job losses. Today George Osbourne

announced that 144,000 fewer people will be working in the public sector

by 2015. Danni Hewson has been looking at how Calderdale council

has had to change the way it works. This is the new face of

Calderdale's mobile library. Gone are the two big bosses and the staff

of ten, this is the only way to keep some kind of a service with

dwindling resources. Numbers have shrunk, but for the elderly and

housebound like Marjorie, it fills the void. It is wonderful. Every few

weeks, they come in with such glorious books. He knows what I

like, he has been coming for such a long time. Not all of the choices

has been as well received. Plans for the cuts sparked protests last year,

but already they have noticed a difference in the services.

services are more restricted to those with a vulnerable background.

They do not offer a baby massage to everyone any more. It is targeted to

certain families. Big society was what David Cameron promised would

fill the void, and at this food bank, they had been inundated with

volunteers and have seen demand rise every year and are already looking

at ways to deal with increased homelessness this winter. This

winter, we will be working in churches so hopefully those with the

bad weather, they will not have to sleep on the streets. For us, it is

local government cuts that have been visible, many of us have not seen

changes since 2010. Areas are handling the cuts in different ways,

but what the hall have in common is that from today, they will have to

make more cuts. To discuss how councils are going to

cope with less money - James Alexander is the Labour leader of

York Council and Stephen Baines is leader of the Conservatives on

Calderdale Council. If I could start with you, James, thousands of jobs

have been lost already, hundreds of billions of pounds have been cut

from budgets and 300 jobs cut in Yorkshire since 2010, what services

can you realistically cuts now? would be a struggle, we have worked

hard so we do not have to close libraries and swimming pools and

keep services going, but clearly there are consequences. We have to

make budget cuts during this Parliament, and it shows the failure

of the economic policy of the government because they said the

deficit would be down by 2015, but it is not, and we have got more

cuts. Stephen, you may have a different opinion, is it possible to

make more cuts on a budget that has already been lost? We need to look

at why these reductions have to be made. The last Labour government

left the highest deficit since the Second World War. That is why we

have to make these reductions, to balance these book. How do you make

the reduction? We have to join services with other councils to

reduce administration costs and management and we need better

procurement between councils. We can do this rather than close libraries

and leisure centres and so on. This can be done. There are three London

Borough Council is joining services, and by 2015, there were be

looking to save millions of pounds per annum, that is a big saving.

doesn't work alone. In Europe we have juiced the administration

costs. -- in York, we have reduced. We moved into new offices to save

millions of pounds over five years and we cancelled a project, we are

doing efficiency savings, and when you are making �70 million of cuts,

half of the budget in this Parliament, it is not possible to do

this administration alone, even if we got rid of the entire

administration costs. The government is putting forward the freezing of

council tax, both councils have put up the council tax in the last two

years, will you be bidding to reduce it? You pay council tax in York, 50%

comes from this, the rest comes from the government, but if this is cut,

we have to make tough choices to reduce council tax. Can it be

reduced in Calderdale? I believe it can, through joint services etc. I

commissioned a review from KMPG, and they confirmed that there had been

substantial services savings if they could work together, but I tend to

feel the only thing that the five Labour leaders in west Yorkshire can

agree on is that they have to join services and shares services but

they cannot decide where. Very briefly, ten seconds, will there be

job losses? Can you reassure very worried town hall workers about

their future? I want to deliver hope, there will be some job losses,

but when we have a Chancellor who is the Doctor beaching of local

services, there are some top choices, we need to protect

services. Local authority jobs will be lost without doubt, to make

savings. We have to find a pounds in Calderdale, but you have to look at

the private sector, for every single job lost in the public sector, there

has been three created in the private sector. OK, thank you for

coming in. Yorkshire's three national museums

were also affected by today's budget announcement. Funding for York's

Railway Museum, Bradford's Media Museum and Wakefield's Coal Mining

Museum has been reduced by five per cent. But the Chancellor insisted

that these museums would remain free and charges would not be introduced.

Our political correspondent Len Tingle joins us from York. Len -

what does today's news mean for our museums?

So far, not much has been said here in York, but a few weeks ago, in the

run-up to this announcement, the science Museum group that runs the

three museums including this one here in York, it has sparked a

furious debate, because if the cuts were too deep, it would have to

close one of them, here in York with its 800,000 visitors per year, or in

Bradford with its 600,000 visitors per year. Maybe the industrial

Museum in Manchester. But with the announcement today of a 5% cut,

that's threat of immediate closure has gone for the time being,

possibly forever. The problem was, would it mean the end of over a

decade of free entry? That was something that the Chancellor was a

bit, he really did not spell out. In the end, he was asked a direct

question and he said no, there will be free entry in these museums as

far as he is concerned, so we are now waiting to see how the shortfall

will be raised? For the moment, that is it from here in York.

Thank you for joining us. Later on Look North... They're a

protected species. But this congregation have been driven

outside by a colony of bats who've taken over their ancient church.

The Direct Line Insurance group is cutting 450 jobs in Leeds, as they

try to cut costs by hundreds of millions of pounds a year. The

redundancies, mostly for head office and support staff, are part of what

they call a drive to regain their competitive edge. But could see up

to a sixth of their Yorkshire workforce axed. Joe Inwood has the

story. As workers arrived this morning,

news of the cuts had started to filter through. Three sides, direct

line in these different towns would lose 450 jobs between them, most in

head office and support staff. Ireland time, workers were given the

news but were not keen to share it. -- by lunchtime. What were you told

this morning? We have to keep it zipped. Have there been job losses

in Leeds? I don't know.The staff are told not to speak to the media,

but the staff put out a statement saying the redundancies were

essential to retaining their competitive edge and the

consultations are still ongoing and they have a long track record of

redeploying people were possible. According to the local chamber of

commerce, Leeds is a city that can offer redeployment. It is tough news

for the families of those affected by this. There will be an impact on

this. It is a strong economy in Leeds and there are signs of bucking

the national trend where there is capacity in this economy to absorb

some of these job losses. company has said these job cuts are

important in retaining their competitive edge, but there will be

for many workers, the start of worrying times.

Some other news now. The inquest into the death of a man

killed by high winds near Yorkshire's tallest building has

been adjourned for a second time. Edward Slaney from Sowerby Bridge

was crushed by a lorry near Bridgewater Place in Leeds in March

2011. It's understood the inquest will resume in the autumn, after

more legal arguments. The case was stopped last year so prosecutors

could decide if criminal charges should be brought.

The Prime Minister has today hinted that the government may back down

over a plan to remove the protection for Sheffield's industrial brand

name. The government had wanted to free companies from having to seek

approval for the use of the city's name on their products, as part of a

drive to reduce red tape. But Sheffield Heeley's Labour MP Meg

Munn told David Cameron it looked as if ministers had somehow got it in

for the city. Sheffield is a fantastic city, a fantastic city,

very important part of Britain's industrial base, and I am very happy

that through the regional growth fund and industrial schemes that we

are investing in the future of Sheffield. I am reliably informed

that she should have some confidence.

The plight of a North Yorkshire church infested by hundreds of bats

has been raised in parliament. For a time, St Hilda's in Ellerburn near

Pickering had to suspend services because the volume of bat droppings

and urine posed a health risk. Bats are a protected species so can't be

removed from the historic building. Congregation numbers have declined

as people look for other places to worship. Ian White reports.

Give us this day our daily bread... Services are up and running again

here, but more often than not, the small congregation has two pray

outside to avoid the mess made by the protected bats who have made the

judge their home. This is St Hilda's Church in Ellerburn, and this is

what we have to do to protect the work, the woodwork, look at it, it

is disgusting. If you take off the plastic sheeting, it is sticky, it

is smelly, and it covers your hands, a real health hazard. By law, it is

illegal to kill, injure or handle bats and destroy their habitat, but

one local MP says it is destroying our churches. Many of the Church is

infected by bat infestation are approaching a situation where the

buildings may be unsustainable as a place of worship. If these were most

wrappings, you would expect to see mouse traps down and possibly even

poison. What because they are bats, you cannot do it. You cannot even

leave the lights on. The one thing we cannot do on television is convey

just how bad the smell is here caused by the bats. It is stomach

churning. But concert version -- but conservationists say it is a big

challenge. Peterlee to look at how they can make a home for nature,

because you can do this with some simple solutions. -- people need to

look. This was built for people, not for bats, the bats can go and live

elsewhere. It is going to rack and ruin, it is criminal. It is

disgusting. The locals and St Hilda's say that the fight is not

over and they are trying to reclaim the church for the people and not

the bats. An unusual story. Bats are so

beautiful, but you have to feel for the people.

Yes, when you cannot get into your church to sing the hymns.

I would be very upset about that. Before seven o'clock. Tonight it's

all about Marray. Not the famous Scot, but the

lesser-known Johnny Marray - the Sheffield doubles player who's

hoping to repeat last year's Next tonight, hard to believe it is

almost a year since the London Olympics. We've heard a lot about

legacy of the games of late. Well in South Yorkshire, a very tangible

reminder of the games has just appeared.

You might remember watching the hockey. It was one of the most

colourful sports, thanks largely to the brightly coloured pitch. Well

after the games finished it was rolled up and now it's been unpacked

and installed in Sheffield. Tom Ingall is there now. Tom, look fat,

in pink! -- look at that, pretty in pink!

It is very luminous, the blue made it being nicknamed the Smurf turf.

This is from the Olympic Games, you might remember if you watch the

Olympic Games, the British Olympic team played on this surface when

they picked up their bronze medal. This is its new permanent home in

Sheffield, it is not just the Sheffield hockey club that can play

here, you can come and bucket and be inspired. A great surface, tell me

all about it, it is so spongy. this has been watered, you play on a

cushion of water like they did at the Olympics. It is one of the top

surfaces in the world. These are some pictures of it being unpacked.

It is more difficult to put the second-hand pitch down, because you

have to do all of the lines. They were manufactured in Australia

because they had to be put in later. We are hoping to inspire the young

people, we have got everyone from the age of five, at oldest player is

74. It is available for football because Paralympic football was

played on head. This has cost a lot of money to invest in it, down from

Sheffield Hallam University, why do the university pay for this? It is

great for the legacy for the university, but also we want the

best facilities for our students that will play on a weekly basis

here, and also we have a great partnership with the local hobby

club, the local hockey club here, we want to inspire as many people as we

can to play this game, whether that be students or the local community.

You hope to get everyone involved? We have the best male team in terms

of the University, we won the Championships last year, so we have

the English national performance centre here, so we want to bring

people from recreation players up to the best they can be, what ever

level they choose to play. Thank you, I need to get my shin pads on,

but I think I will stick to playing! Now there are certain Sporting

questions we ask all too rarely on Look North. Could this be

Yorkshire's year again at Wimbledon?! Yes, you'll remember our

dynamic doubles player Jonny Marray from Sheffield, roaring to victory

last year. And he's just launched his 2013 campaign with a new partner

Colin Fleming. They are seeded ninth in the tournament. They are up

against a Slovakian pairing. It was meant to be Murray, but

instead it was our man, Jonny Marray. He became the first man to

win a Wimbledon title since 1936 last year. They have done it!He did

it in the doubles alongside Frederick Nielsen from Denmark. At

the age of 31 after a professional lifetime outside the limelight, he

had made it to the top. He came through four, five matches along the

way, and it was, well, we just gain some momentum and confidence during

the two weeks and we were lucky to get the trophy at the end. He got an

enthusiastic welcome back at his days. A civic reception showing that

Sheffield had a new sporting hero. This year's challenge is greater

still, retaining the title. He has Colin Fleming as his new partner, he

partnered him in the Davis cup. keep things chilled out, I bring a

sharp look! Like complements Johnny and him being from Yorkshire, I

smooth out the edges! The quiet apart from Sheffield made a big

noise last year, will he give us something to shout about this time

round! Danny Carpenter is an Wimbledon for

us now, glorious sunshine, how is it looking? -- is in Wimbledon. Right

behind me, this is Centre Court, over here, Court number one where

Andy Murray is this evening. Down here, this is Court number 14, that

is where Sheffield's Jonny Marray, Britain's only raining men champion

has been coming to the defence of his title. -- reigning men's

champion. This year he is with a new partner, Colin Fleming, and they

have reached a quarterfinal at Queens, they reached a final at

Eastbourne, and they are seeded number nine here, so expected to go

a long way. They are 5-4 down in the second set, they are going into

service. Thank you very much for pictures now, the first run,

looking a bit more on settles. If you have things to do, do it in the

morning, if you can. Some patchy rain later, but there will be some

rain in eastern areas. This weather front will slip to the south. In the

last few hours, it has clouded over. A week weather front that could

produce some light showers. In the West, some breaks in the cloud. This

could hang around for some time. It will break up later and we will see

some low temperatures in the cloud break. 12, 13 degrees in urban areas

across South Yorkshire, Doncaster, Sheffield. The sun will rise in the

morning at 4:47am. There might be some cloud leftover from this

evening tomorrow morning, so a bright and sunny start with variable

cloud. Some sunshine in the morning, then the weather front bringing some

rain. It should reach the Pennines by around the middle of the

afternoon and stretch into Leeds and Sheffield in the afternoon. Some

eastern areas will see very little. A night stay in Scarborough, Filey

and with the. 18 Celsius. We push inland. -- a nice day in

Scarborough, Filey and Whitby Bay. Some moderate bursts in the

morning, that will fizzle out later in the day. The weekend, not looking

too bad, some patchy rain late on Saturday. A lot of fine weather and

it could be quite warm on Sunday afternoon. That is your forecast.

You have an apology to make to our viewers, you have been doubting the