:00:00. > :00:00.Good evening and welcome to the late Look North.
:00:07. > :00:09.The wait for a bridge is over in Elland.
:00:10. > :00:13.After more than a year of this community being divided
:00:14. > :00:15.in two, Elland Bridge has reopened once more.
:00:16. > :00:21.The Chesterfield head-teacher doing a sponsored run because of cuts
:00:22. > :00:31.The cold air continues to feed in from the near continent.
:00:32. > :00:38.Join me for the live, updated forecast.
:00:39. > :00:43.There were celebrations in Elland today after its historic bridge
:00:44. > :00:47.finally reopened more than a year since floodwaters washed
:00:48. > :00:50.The grade two listed bridge was wrecked by the 2015 Boxing Day
:00:51. > :00:53.floods, and caused chaos for drivers and businesses in the town.
:00:54. > :00:57.The opening comes just a week after Tadcaster Bridge was re-opened.
:00:58. > :00:59.Another bridge closed by Storm Eva, Linton,
:01:00. > :01:06.is still a work in progress, As Charlotte Leeming reports.
:01:07. > :01:09.It's been a long wait for this day, so many people in Elland,
:01:10. > :01:13.cameras at the ready, did not want to miss it.
:01:14. > :01:15.With a brass band playing there was a celebratory atmosphere
:01:16. > :01:19.in the town as a minibus full of expectant passengers crossed
:01:20. > :01:22.the bridge for the first time since it was destroyed
:01:23. > :01:28.It has already stood 200 years, we have put resilience into it
:01:29. > :01:31.to make it much stronger than it was before,
:01:32. > :01:34.so we are delighted that we now have a bridge that should last many,
:01:35. > :01:36.many years and serve this community well.
:01:37. > :01:39.Built in 1811, the grade two listed bridge could not withstand
:01:40. > :01:42.storms that hit Yorkshire, flooding many nearby
:01:43. > :01:46.There has been a complex and careful rebuild to preserve
:01:47. > :01:50.All the original stone has been reused.
:01:51. > :01:52.But that painstaking process has tested the patience
:01:53. > :01:58.Andrew Firth runs a pub next to the bridge and has seen a massive
:01:59. > :02:04.We have two children at the top end of Elland who go to school
:02:05. > :02:06.and their journey time has doubled because of it.
:02:07. > :02:08.The business trade, obviously we lose a lot.
:02:09. > :02:12.Ourselves, we do a lot of passing trade, you know, people driving,
:02:13. > :02:15.people walking along the canal, and we have just lost that this year
:02:16. > :02:22.Delays, diversions, division, the closures also had a big impact
:02:23. > :02:25.on local charity project Colt, which recycles furniture.
:02:26. > :02:29.Their delivery drivers have had much longer journeys and it has been
:02:30. > :02:32.a logistical nightmare just to unload.
:02:33. > :02:36.A lot of driving around, going all over, so you know,
:02:37. > :02:45.We'd also forgotten how vibrant it is when there is traffic flowing.
:02:46. > :02:51.That vibrancy is something that people in Linton near Wetherby
:02:52. > :02:57.Their grade two listed bridge isn't due to reopen until the summer,
:02:58. > :03:00.the last of Yorkshire's flood damaged bridges to be repaired.
:03:01. > :03:03.But in Elland, it's been a day of celebration with long-term
:03:04. > :03:07.resident JJ and his mascot, gorilla George, itching
:03:08. > :03:11.Elland is reunited and the bridge is back.
:03:12. > :03:17.A historic day for Elland as the town is reunited once again
:03:18. > :03:20.with the reassurance this bridge will stand for at least
:03:21. > :03:29.Meanwhile, councillors in Leeds today increased pressure
:03:30. > :03:34.on the government to commit funding for new flood defences.
:03:35. > :03:37.Heidi Tomlinson is on the River Aire in the city centre.
:03:38. > :03:40.Just remind us what progress has been made to defences
:03:41. > :03:56.Well, this is Crown point around the dock area overlooking the River Aire
:03:57. > :03:59.and this is where phase one of the flood alleviation scheme is taking
:04:00. > :04:05.place. Work has been going on here for sometime. It is a movable weir,
:04:06. > :04:08.the first one to be installed in the UK and it works on a kind of
:04:09. > :04:12.inflatable system so that the movable weir can be inflated or
:04:13. > :04:17.defect is, depending on the capacity of water in the river. It should go
:04:18. > :04:22.a long way to protect 3000 homes and 500 businesses in this area. It has
:04:23. > :04:27.come at a cost of ?45 million. It is expected to be finished this summer.
:04:28. > :04:32.Amazing bit is there. What has happened today? Well, Leeds City
:04:33. > :04:37.Council executive order today and they wanted to discuss a report
:04:38. > :04:42.which stressed the critical need for significant further investment in
:04:43. > :04:45.flood defences here in Leeds. They are really concerned about phase two
:04:46. > :04:50.of this leads flood alleviation scheme. That will concentrate on the
:04:51. > :04:58.Kirkstall corridor. He can't forget those images we saw in December 20
:04:59. > :05:02.15th where Storm Eva turned the road into a river. Homes and businesses
:05:03. > :05:09.were badly damaged, some businesses never reopened. Phase two would go a
:05:10. > :05:13.long way to reassuring people in this area. The funding for that
:05:14. > :05:16.scheme is still not confirmed. This is what the council was trying to
:05:17. > :05:20.say to the government, that they want confirmation that funding will
:05:21. > :05:24.be made available. The leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake said
:05:25. > :05:28.tonight that the city needs flood defences as soon as possible. It is
:05:29. > :05:31.the only way that people will feel reassured that everything is being
:05:32. > :05:35.done to reduce the chances of flooding like that ever happening
:05:36. > :05:38.again. The City Council will be taking this report to the
:05:39. > :05:40.Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom. Thank you very much.
:05:41. > :05:44.McLaren Supercars are to open a ?50 million factory
:05:45. > :05:45.in South Yorkshire, which could create
:05:46. > :05:48.The factory will build parts for the company's supercars
:05:49. > :05:51.and be based at the site of Sheffield Airport.
:05:52. > :05:55.The partnership between McLaren Automotive and the University
:05:56. > :06:00.of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre will
:06:01. > :06:07.The government said tonight it plans to ease restrictions that
:06:08. > :06:10.were imposed following a case of bird flu in Malham
:06:11. > :06:14.Birds have had to be kept indoors for the last two months
:06:15. > :06:16.and producers were concerned about the impact on their business.
:06:17. > :06:18.They feared that if the restrictions continued -
:06:19. > :06:22.they would no longer be able to sell their eggs as free-range.
:06:23. > :06:25.Next tonight, a headteacher from Chestefield will take part
:06:26. > :06:36.in the Great North Run to fundraise for his school.
:06:37. > :06:39.Dave Shaw from Spire Junior school - says funding cuts are threatening
:06:40. > :06:41.what he can provide - and this is a last resort.
:06:42. > :06:43.His case was raised at Prime Ministers Questions today
:06:44. > :06:46.by the local MP who pressed the Prime Minister about school
:06:47. > :06:50.Theresa May said the government was consulting on a new funding
:06:51. > :06:56.Dave Shaw is the headteacher of Spire Junior School.
:06:57. > :06:58.Later this year he'll take part in the Great North Run.
:06:59. > :07:08.It's his way of raising money so his year six pupils
:07:09. > :07:11.still have the chance to go on a modest two night residential
:07:12. > :07:15.This is the third most deprived area in Derbyshire.
:07:16. > :07:18.We have 70% of our children on free school meals and families
:07:19. > :07:21.I believe the actual activities are vitally important
:07:22. > :07:23.to their education in terms of their self-esteem
:07:24. > :07:25.and self-confidence, so we value our residential,
:07:26. > :07:30.But as funding cuts are kicking in, it's going to be one of the things
:07:31. > :07:35.Dave said opportunities for them will simply dry up if proposed
:07:36. > :07:39.Are you going to show me into your school?
:07:40. > :07:44.This is not the first time cameras have been
:07:45. > :07:49.Back in 2010, this is where Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
:07:50. > :07:52.By offering more help at an early age to the most
:07:53. > :07:54.disadvantaged children, we will directly tackle the gaps
:07:55. > :07:58.in attainment that open up in the critical early years of life.
:07:59. > :08:01.Today, the school was back in the political spotlight, too.
:08:02. > :08:05.Running for cash is now the only alternative to sacking staff.
:08:06. > :08:09.Will she go to the finish line and tell Dave Shaw how this
:08:10. > :08:16.Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins raising the case at Prime
:08:17. > :08:22.What the government has brought forward is a consultation
:08:23. > :08:30.We will look at the result of that fairer funding formula
:08:31. > :08:33.and we will bring forward our firm proposals in due course.
:08:34. > :08:35.The school receives its funding from the government
:08:36. > :09:05.I have lost a teaching assistant and a teacher this year
:09:06. > :09:09.My deputy headteacher is teaching near enough full-time.
:09:10. > :09:15.There is literally nothing else to cut now.
:09:16. > :09:17.For Dave, strapping on his running shoes is not just
:09:18. > :09:27.Tom Ingle, BBC Look North, Chesterfield.
:09:28. > :09:35.Good on him. If you have been out and about the night you would have
:09:36. > :09:40.felt it is quite cold. Is it going to freeze overnight? It is going to,
:09:41. > :09:43.there could even be slow in places, particularly in the east. It is the
:09:44. > :09:48.headline for tomorrow, cloudy and cold with a few wintry showers.
:09:49. > :09:55.There could be a Cuban agents that East for the North York moors. --
:09:56. > :10:01.there could be accumulations further east. Subtle differences as we head
:10:02. > :10:04.into Sunday and early next week, you notice the winter beers around more
:10:05. > :10:13.to the south-east and eventually next week turned mild, -- the wind
:10:14. > :10:20.veers around more. A scattering now of mainly light rain showers. A
:10:21. > :10:24.slight dusting in eastern areas. Further west there will be a
:10:25. > :10:30.widespread frost. Icy patches on untreated surfaces. Tomorrow, a
:10:31. > :10:38.broad day. An easterly trees. Cloudy skies, a scattering of -- an
:10:39. > :10:42.easterly breeze. A scattering of showers. It really will feel cold.
:10:43. > :10:47.These are the top temperatures, just three Celsius. As we head through
:10:48. > :10:52.Thursday evening in the Thursday night, further scattering, mainly
:10:53. > :10:56.light sleet and snow showers. There will be a frost with icy patches. We
:10:57. > :11:00.carried at forecast through Friday and into the weekend. By the end of
:11:01. > :11:03.the weekend, slightly less cold. That is it from Lara and I. I
:11:04. > :11:08.cloudy and Ben Rich will take you through the bigger picture.
:11:09. > :11:15.Good evening. Over the next few days I suspect it's going to feel like we
:11:16. > :11:21.have been plunged into the deep freeze. Cold weather on the way and
:11:22. > :11:25.not necessarily crisp cold weather, with blue skies. A lot of cloud,
:11:26. > :11:29.there was some sunshine today across parts of west Wales, for instance.
:11:30. > :11:33.That lifted temperatures up to 11. But further east as you can see from
:11:34. > :11:38.the picture, there was a lot of cloud feeding in and that pegged
:11:39. > :11:42.temperatures down into single figures, because there is
:11:43. > :11:47.increasingly cold air heading in this direction on a cold and fairly
:11:48. > :11:49.strong wind. Tonight that wind will continue to deliver wintry showers,
:11:50. > :11:54.particularly close to the east coast, a mixture of rain and sleet
:11:55. > :11:57.along the coast. Inland some snowfall and wherever you are it's a
:11:58. > :11:58.cold night with temperatures around