:00:00. > :00:00.Good evening, and welcome to the late Look North.
:00:00. > :00:08.Tonight - is a ?900 million windfall for South Yorkshire under threat?
:00:09. > :00:10.Plans for an elected mayor for the region face delays
:00:11. > :00:17.after a row with Derbyshire over which areas will be part of it.
:00:18. > :00:19.We're in Calderdale a year on from the devastating floods -
:00:20. > :00:29.residents say they still live in fear of it happening again.
:00:30. > :00:33.With news of potentially severe gales over the Christmas weekend,
:00:34. > :00:39.join me for that live updated forecast.
:00:40. > :00:42.A leading expert on local government has told Look North that elections
:00:43. > :00:47.for a South Yorkshire mayor next year are now looking unlikely.
:00:48. > :00:50.The plans - which would lead to almost a billion
:00:51. > :00:52.pounds of new funding - were thrown into disarray
:00:53. > :00:55.because of a tug-of-war about Chesterfield.
:00:56. > :00:58.The town was due to join Sheffield City Region -
:00:59. > :01:01.but Derbyshire County Council challenged it in the High Court.
:01:02. > :01:13.Christmas. It is full of decisions, like who gets what? Take
:01:14. > :01:16.Chesterfield itself... Geographically it is firmly in zero
:01:17. > :01:22.option but political leaders here think that an invitation to join the
:01:23. > :01:26.new Sheffield economic region was too good a gift to refuse and today
:01:27. > :01:31.they still do. It is about investment and economic
:01:32. > :01:35.opportunities. Not about geography but about administrative boundaries.
:01:36. > :01:38.Getting economic activity devolved from government to the local
:01:39. > :01:43.decision-makers of which I am one. And ensuring it is used in the best
:01:44. > :01:47.place for Chesterfield residents. Devolution of power was meant to be
:01:48. > :01:51.a gift from government to the regions. The then Chancellor George
:01:52. > :01:55.Osborne promised more cash as long as a mayor was elected.
:01:56. > :02:01.He was keen to glad handed local politicians as a deal for the region
:02:02. > :02:06.was signed. It should have been straightforward, Sheffield,
:02:07. > :02:11.Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster at its heart. Derbyshire Dales, and
:02:12. > :02:15.North Derbyshire councils were invited to join in.
:02:16. > :02:17.Bassetlaw and Chesterfield wanted to become members with full voting
:02:18. > :02:22.rights but Derbyshire County Council say that it cannot be claimed just
:02:23. > :02:25.like that. They went to the High Court and the judge agreed that the
:02:26. > :02:31.consultation undertaken to establish a new region was unlawful. I've had
:02:32. > :02:37.more contact from people in Chesterfield about this issue than
:02:38. > :02:39.anything else in the last three years.
:02:40. > :02:42.People were very alarmed they did not know about it and concerned they
:02:43. > :02:45.had no chance to say what they thought about it either. So far
:02:46. > :02:53.there is no sign of the government taking their gift back to the shop.
:02:54. > :03:06.In a statement after today's ruling,...
:03:07. > :03:13.I think given that the combined authorities are saying it is going
:03:14. > :03:16.to review the judgment carefully, it suggests there has to be a further
:03:17. > :03:21.consultation if they want to hold together these authorities. It is
:03:22. > :03:25.hard, as of now, to see a mayoral election going ahead next May. As
:03:26. > :03:31.2016 draws to a close, Chesterfield is no closer to answering the
:03:32. > :03:35.question of whether it looks north towards Sheffield or does it lean
:03:36. > :03:37.spire and county council offices at spire and county council offices at
:03:38. > :03:42.Matlock. We've asked Sheffield region for an
:03:43. > :03:46.interview numerous times today but we ain't given a statement saying
:03:47. > :03:48.that they are considering a statement and will announce their
:03:49. > :03:53.next steps in due course. We were meant to be electing our
:03:54. > :03:56.next mayor in May but tonight, that timetable looks, at best, ambitious.
:03:57. > :04:01.Tom English, BBC Look North. John Mann is the MP
:04:02. > :04:03.for Bassetlaw which - like Chesterfield -
:04:04. > :04:09.is affected by today's ruling. Well, it will delay things, I'm
:04:10. > :04:14.sure. But I do not think that Judges should be sticking their noses into
:04:15. > :04:19.local democracy. We have elected councillors, politicians, doing
:04:20. > :04:23.that. I'm a bit disappointed that judges think that it is their role
:04:24. > :04:27.to be dictating what should and should not be happening. Don't you
:04:28. > :04:31.think it makes a mockery of local government, to have a dispute like
:04:32. > :04:39.this in the first place? Well, you have a county council in Derbyshire,
:04:40. > :04:44.this is all about their jobs as councillors and their power. And
:04:45. > :04:49.what they want to exercise. This is a ridiculous step back but we can
:04:50. > :04:55.overcome it. Our economic future means working with our neighbours
:04:56. > :05:00.where our buses, trains, most of our cars go. That is where we need
:05:01. > :05:03.transport improvements. It is the Sheffield Universitys that I want to
:05:04. > :05:06.see working with my businesses to help them grow and the more they do
:05:07. > :05:10.it, the sooner they do it, the more it, the sooner they do it, the more
:05:11. > :05:15.we get that money to do it, the better. Are you saying that support
:05:16. > :05:21.lies with Sheffield rather than Nottingham in Bassetlaw? Of course.
:05:22. > :05:26.Because we are in error. It's where more people work and more businesses
:05:27. > :05:29.do their business. I've got nothing against Nottingham but the idea it
:05:30. > :05:36.was Nottingham and Derby that they proposed, I don't even know the way
:05:37. > :05:41.to Derby! For us, it is our economy. The airport we use. It's Robin Hood
:05:42. > :05:49.airport. The airline we've got. East Coast mainline.
:05:50. > :05:56.That is where our linkages and when it comes to the economy, and it
:05:57. > :06:00.comes to transport, and it comes to health, that is where we are and
:06:01. > :06:05.where we need to be. We need to stop messing around with this and just
:06:06. > :06:08.get on with it. John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw speaking there.
:06:09. > :06:11.A man who claims he was abused at a children's home in Yorkshire
:06:12. > :06:13.has been awarded thousands of pounds of compensation.
:06:14. > :06:15.Hundreds of men are suing the Catholic Church over historical
:06:16. > :06:17.abuse at the St Williams school near Pocklington,
:06:18. > :06:21.Three other men lost their case for compensation at the High Court
:06:22. > :06:27.in Leeds and another will be decided next month.
:06:28. > :06:30.A woman's been taken to hospital after her car ran out of control
:06:31. > :06:33.in Sheffield and ended up in Porter Brook.
:06:34. > :06:35.A number of other vehicles were damaged in the incident
:06:36. > :06:37.on Sylvester Street just before five o clock.
:06:38. > :06:43.West Yorkshire Fire Service has issued a warning to e-cigarette
:06:44. > :06:46.users after a man was injured by a battery exploding
:06:47. > :06:49.Investigators say the man was keeping batteries
:06:50. > :06:55.They say people should avoid storing them alongside other metal objects
:06:56. > :07:07.It's nearly a year since homes and businesses in Yorkshire
:07:08. > :07:10.This week we've been looking at the legacy
:07:11. > :07:13.Today we hear from the residents of Calderdale.
:07:14. > :07:16.Millions of pounds are being invested in a new flood
:07:17. > :07:17.prevention scheme - but many residents say
:07:18. > :07:20.they still live in fear of it happening again.
:07:21. > :07:34.The Calder Valley will never forget Boxing Day 2015. By 3pm, the River
:07:35. > :07:39.coal dollars at the highest level ever recorded. Water rampaged
:07:40. > :07:43.through, showing no mercy. Emergency services were at full stretch, and
:07:44. > :07:48.some residents had no choice but to risk their own safety to help
:07:49. > :07:54.others. Here, dozens of elderly people had to be rescued from their
:07:55. > :08:00.ground floor flats which were completely submerged. Mary, back in
:08:01. > :08:03.your flat at last, what is it like? Sensational. Mary King was one of
:08:04. > :08:08.them, the 82-year-old only moved back in a couple of weeks ago. I
:08:09. > :08:11.used to walk around and peep into the window and thought I can't go
:08:12. > :08:16.back there. No walls or doors. What a
:08:17. > :08:20.transformation! Others are looking for more reassurance. Cordell
:08:21. > :08:25.Council has ?60 million set aside for flood risk management.
:08:26. > :08:31.-- Calderdale. Work has already begun but the severity of the floods
:08:32. > :08:34.came with a financial and emotional knock.
:08:35. > :08:39.This man risked his lives to save others on Boxing Day and says others
:08:40. > :08:43.still feel vulnerable. We have to beg, steal and borrow. We have flood
:08:44. > :08:50.stores but nothing in them. If push comes to shove and God forbid
:08:51. > :08:54.there's another incident like Boxing Day, it is sounding like we can do
:08:55. > :09:00.very little. Here, the fear of further floods has forced some to
:09:01. > :09:03.move away. John and Catherine's home was destroyed last Christmas,
:09:04. > :09:06.Catherine was 8.5 months pregnant, and they wanted a safer place for
:09:07. > :09:14.their baby. We decided it was not the best place
:09:15. > :09:19.to bring a child up. You have the flood risk. The ever present threat
:09:20. > :09:23.of damage and harm hangs over many residents in the valley. Some
:09:24. > :09:26.experts have said it is a miracle that no one died in the Boxing Day
:09:27. > :09:31.floods, these communities want to know that the flood protection work
:09:32. > :09:33.will save them, should be heavy rains come again.
:09:34. > :09:37.Charlotte Leeming, BBC Look North, in the Calder Valley.
:09:38. > :09:42.Let's find out if bad weather is coming our way...
:09:43. > :09:46.What is the latest? There are strong winds to come in the next few days,
:09:47. > :09:50.tomorrow not looking bad, sunny spells and some showers, the jet
:09:51. > :09:55.stream will pile in from the West as we head towards the Christmas
:09:56. > :10:02.weekend. Friday, and you can see the number of ice bars there. Severe
:10:03. > :10:10.gales, and Christmas Day is windy as well. -- isobars. Temperatures at 13
:10:11. > :10:15.degrees on Christmas Day afternoon. Then we have a couple of showers
:10:16. > :10:19.coming in from the West. Elsewhere, dry with clearer periods, and it
:10:20. > :10:24.could have icy patches on untreated surfaces, temperatures close to
:10:25. > :10:28.freezing in countryside areas. Tomorrow is quite chilly, breezy but
:10:29. > :10:32.bright, plenty of sunshine about. A few scattered showers, especially in
:10:33. > :10:38.the north, west and eastern parts of southern Yorkshire. It should be
:10:39. > :10:45.dry, but feeling quite chilly. Temperatures of six or 7 degrees. On
:10:46. > :10:49.Thursday evening, Thursday night, a couple of showers possible, then it
:10:50. > :10:53.becomes dry, certainly on Friday morning, this vale of cloud comes in
:10:54. > :10:57.from the West. That's ahead of the next weather system that brings
:10:58. > :11:00.severe gales on Friday. Heavy rain on Friday afternoon. That's it from
:11:01. > :11:01.us, a summary of good for us. Mild by the time we
:11:02. > :11:08.reach Christmas Day. Hello there, there is wet and very
:11:09. > :11:11.windy weather on the way in the run-up to Christmas. The worst of
:11:12. > :11:18.the weather to the northern half of the UK. We have a strengthening jet
:11:19. > :11:22.out of North America that is propgating across the Atlantic.
:11:23. > :11:25.Rushing our way. Picking up low pressure, deepening them, tracking
:11:26. > :11:29.them to the north-west of Scotland, hence the wind and rain. Tonight, we
:11:30. > :11:33.have gale force winds in the north-west of Scotland. Wintry
:11:34. > :11:37.showers here. There is still come rain to clear from the south-east.
:11:38. > :11:42.It will go. The skies will clear. We get patchy fog in the south-east of
:11:43. > :11:45.England. Chilly where skies clear, particularly in the countryside, not
:11:46. > :11:47.far away from freezing. Further north we keep the showers going
:11:48. > :11:49.through the night and into the morning