:00:00. > :00:00.Good evening and welcome to a festive Look North
:00:00. > :00:12.Tonight we're reflecting on a year in which communities -
:00:13. > :00:14.just like this one - were brought to their knees
:00:15. > :00:23.by flooding but somehow found the strength to carry on.
:00:24. > :00:33.Last December, stormed Desmond Merry Christmas was a wash-out in Hebden
:00:34. > :00:37.Bridge. -- Christmas was a wash-out in Hebden Bridge. We will be hearing
:00:38. > :00:39.about how communities have raised funds to protect themselves against
:00:40. > :00:43.flooding. We'll hear from a woman who is moving back into her house 12
:00:44. > :00:44.months after the flooding. Also tonight: How Muslims,
:00:45. > :00:47.Sikhs and Christians have come together in Bradford in Christmas
:00:48. > :00:59.acts of kindness. And another storm is developing over
:01:00. > :01:35.Christmas. I'll be back with the forecast.
:01:36. > :02:05.Good evening from Hebden Bridge town hall.
:02:06. > :02:08.This is the story of a remarkable community effort.
:02:09. > :02:18.It's a heart-warming story of recovery with everyone pulling
:02:19. > :02:33.A fact which was recognised only last week when it was crowned
:02:34. > :04:31.Let's just remind ourselves what a difficult year it's been.
:04:32. > :04:39.2016 is a year to forget. We are at the town hall which is now the
:04:40. > :04:47.community association and we got the community with us tonight. This is
:04:48. > :04:56.the heart of the recovery effort. It's helped this place get back on
:04:57. > :05:03.its feet. Let me introduce you to the manager of the town hall and the
:05:04. > :05:08.Flood warden. Thanks for joining us. We won't have another year like
:05:09. > :05:12.this, I hope! The start of the year was responding to the floods and my
:05:13. > :05:18.predecessor was in charge of that and the rest of the year we spent in
:05:19. > :05:32.our own recovery and in discussion with local authorities about
:05:33. > :05:43.what happens. What did you think about the community pulling
:05:44. > :05:46.together? Hebden Bridge has a very good community spirit generally.
:05:47. > :05:50.There are a lot of things that happen here and everybody pulls
:05:51. > :06:10.together and response. You have had a busy time as flood
:06:11. > :06:18.warning, haven't you? We started as flood wardens in 2015, which is when
:06:19. > :06:27.we suffered horrendous flooding and devastation afterwards. You're
:06:28. > :06:29.almost like Corporal Jones because we had a situation earlier today
:06:30. > :06:35.when there was a flood alert, wasn't there? When people get the flood
:06:36. > :06:38.alerts, I can understand it quite greatly but as soon as they get an
:06:39. > :06:46.alert from the Environment Agency, they go into a panic and I try to
:06:47. > :06:49.alleviate the panic buy putting postings on social media and that is
:06:50. > :06:56.one of the ways we have really been able to get to the community and it
:06:57. > :06:59.has been very responsive. You've done a tremendous job this year.
:07:00. > :07:06.This town's fightback is a story that will gladden Eddie -- anyone's
:07:07. > :07:21.heart. Watermark has been a campaign which
:07:22. > :07:24.helps local businesses in a way help the community, something which could
:07:25. > :07:32.be copied across the country. Today, they can reach for the
:07:33. > :07:40.rafters. But 12 months ago, they had a huge
:07:41. > :07:43.clean-up job on their hands. It rose until the water had
:07:44. > :07:53.reached this height. All we could do was make
:07:54. > :07:55.sure everyone was out. We just got in the following day
:07:56. > :07:59.and cleaned up, and all of this The team here know full
:08:00. > :08:02.well the heartache and Now the owners have designed
:08:03. > :08:05.something new for a scheme that Why would would gin make people more
:08:06. > :08:09.resilient against flooding? A couple of friends
:08:10. > :08:12.and I are chemists and have The idea is to give a proportion
:08:13. > :08:18.of the profits to the watermark fund to the objective
:08:19. > :08:21.to grow our business and give money back to the watermark fund has
:08:22. > :08:24.doubled, it too good an opportunity. Businesses around the Calder Valley
:08:25. > :08:32.are quite literally It is in their interests
:08:33. > :08:39.because for so many of them, it is almost impossible to get
:08:40. > :08:42.insured against flooding. For others, it is coffee,
:08:43. > :08:48.Christmas cards or events. Part or all of the profits
:08:49. > :08:53.are paid into the fund. It all came from an idea by Chris
:08:54. > :09:00.who hopes it can be taken Anyone can contribute,
:09:01. > :09:04.even if there is no chance of them being flooded,
:09:05. > :09:09.and a lot of people do it just because they want the place
:09:10. > :09:12.they live to be sustainable a nicer place to live,
:09:13. > :09:14.so that's what it's The Watermark team are hoping
:09:15. > :09:18.this winter will be kinder to Calderdale, but if the water does
:09:19. > :09:20.rise again, they will Well, with us now is
:09:21. > :09:31.the Conservative MP for the Calder Valley,
:09:32. > :09:44.Craig Whittaker. The town has for back so well. The
:09:45. > :09:51.whole Calder Valley has. We seen this in fantastic response from all
:09:52. > :09:54.the communities. The whole Calder Valley has seen a huge community
:09:55. > :09:58.effort right across the board. Do you think we're getting enough
:09:59. > :10:01.money? We just heard on the news recently that London is getting four
:10:02. > :10:06.times the amount of money for flood defences than the whole of
:10:07. > :10:12.Yorkshire. Is that good enough? The BBC should come here to the Calder
:10:13. > :10:24.Valley because we have a ?75 million package, which is fantastic, ?25
:10:25. > :10:28.million for repairs and 50 million pounds to put flood defences in
:10:29. > :10:36.place. We are incredibly happy with the Government response. Is it just
:10:37. > :10:42.a sticking plaster? These are forever moving scenes. We got the
:10:43. > :10:48.one for the Calder Valley which is up and running from October. Spades
:10:49. > :10:55.in the ground go in physically after Christmas. All that work is starting
:10:56. > :11:03.to happen so it is really good news for us. It's wonderful we have had
:11:04. > :11:07.this community spirit but shouldn't the Government be helping instead of
:11:08. > :11:10.local businesses having to pay money towards a ?250,000 fund to help a
:11:11. > :11:17.fellow business? It's not right, is it? We've seen the Government
:11:18. > :11:27.resource the flood this year which means every household is able to get
:11:28. > :11:33.flood insurance. The package allows businesses who couldn't get flood
:11:34. > :11:38.insurance to get it. Is it affordable? It's early days but in
:11:39. > :11:45.the cases we've seen, that appears to be the case. You must be happy
:11:46. > :11:51.with this community spirit you've witnessed. Anywhere I go in the
:11:52. > :11:56.Calder Valley, the community spirit has been and continues to be
:11:57. > :11:58.fantastic. Thank you very much. We've had lots from Hebden Bridge
:11:59. > :12:06.and we got a lot more to tell you. Let's hand you back to Amanda
:12:07. > :12:09.in the studio with the rest A man, a woman and three children
:12:10. > :12:14.from West Yorkshire have been seriously injured after a collision
:12:15. > :12:16.between their car and a lorry The accident happened near Watford
:12:17. > :12:20.Gap at around ten this morning. The southbound carriageway
:12:21. > :12:22.was closed for several hours. The one-year-old girl and two boys
:12:23. > :12:25.aged nine and eleven were taken The man and woman,
:12:26. > :12:28.who are in a critical condition, are being treated
:12:29. > :12:34.at University Hospital Coventry. The widower of murdered MP Jo Cox
:12:35. > :12:37.will deliver this year's alternative Mrs Cox was killed in her Bately
:12:38. > :12:44.and Spen constituency in June. Brendan Cox will call for an end
:12:45. > :12:47.to the "rise of hatred" The demolition of Scarborough's
:12:48. > :12:55.Futurist Theatre could cost up to ?4 million, according
:12:56. > :12:57.to a report out today. The town's council set out plans
:12:58. > :13:00.for how the seafront building will be knocked down and the cliffs
:13:01. > :13:03.behind it stablilised. Campaigners have been fighting
:13:04. > :13:05.a long battle to save the historic theatre, which Flamingoland
:13:06. > :13:07.want to redevelop as A group of faith leaders
:13:08. > :13:16.from different religions have gathered together to make Christmas
:13:17. > :13:18.hampers for refugees. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians
:13:19. > :13:20.have all been involved Care, compassion and Christmas
:13:21. > :13:26.dinner - that's what brought these The group Muslim Hands has worked
:13:27. > :13:34.with local Christian and Sikh communities to make hampers
:13:35. > :13:36.for Christian refugees Throughout all of our religions,
:13:37. > :13:45.compassion and helping the needy and service to humanity
:13:46. > :13:49.is so important. For those new communities coming
:13:50. > :13:52.here, Bradford as a city just wants The common threads of Christmas
:13:53. > :13:58.cuisine are all here - potatoes, carrots, mince pies and,
:13:59. > :14:00.of course, the Brussels sprouts. It's a traditional Christmas dinner
:14:01. > :14:03.so we are hoping that everybody will know what to do
:14:04. > :14:08.with the Brussels sprouts. There might be some
:14:09. > :14:14.curried Brussels sprouts! The hampers are going to refugees
:14:15. > :14:22.and asylum seekers. This lady came here as a refugee
:14:23. > :14:26.from the Congo four years ago. The hamper gives her the opportunity
:14:27. > :14:31.to celebrate her Christian faith. I'm so happy for people
:14:32. > :14:33.to come to see me. The seasonal goodwill extends,
:14:34. > :14:46.as these leaders will be serving a meal to those in need on Christmas
:14:47. > :14:50.Day. Those are your main stories
:14:51. > :14:53.in brief, let's go back to Harry 2,000 homes in Calderdale were
:14:54. > :15:08.flooded by the Boxing Day storm. Incredibly some people have only
:15:09. > :15:19.just moved back home. We've got a story about these
:15:20. > :15:24.people. Ali Fortescue's been to meet one
:15:25. > :15:27.pensioner who's spent the last year in hotels and care homes and a young
:15:28. > :15:31.mum who's had to sofa surf It's just been a relentless,
:15:32. > :15:39.long process to be honest. Packing up her life for the fifth
:15:40. > :15:42.time this year, Stephanie has been living out of a suitcase
:15:43. > :15:44.with their eight-year-old daughter since her home
:15:45. > :15:47.flooded last December. I've been living at my
:15:48. > :15:49.mother-in-law's, my Now, 12 months on, she finally has
:15:50. > :16:06.a date to move home. Stephanie woke up on Boxing Day
:16:07. > :16:16.to find rising water Just a few doors down,
:16:17. > :16:29.and 83-year-old Sheila was having She's been in hotels and care homes
:16:30. > :16:35.since and now finally has the keys I'm just glad to be back
:16:36. > :16:45.and people are coming back. I missed my neighbours
:16:46. > :17:00.and they missed me. Here in this town devastated
:17:01. > :17:02.by last year's floods, work is still being done to help
:17:03. > :17:07.people like Sheila and Stephanie. One year on and they may be moving
:17:08. > :17:11.back home but there's still a to do For Stephanie, rebuilding
:17:12. > :17:14.her life starts now. She has the keys back to her flat
:17:15. > :17:18.and she hopes the New Year will mean a new start and time to forget
:17:19. > :17:21.the year that was 2016 for people They say that the hallmark of any
:17:22. > :17:36.community is the way it Until Boxing Day, Matthew Ellison
:17:37. > :17:54.was a car mechanic in Hebden Bridge but when he saw the high street
:17:55. > :17:57.under water, he decided to design some ingenious ways
:17:58. > :18:01.to protect it in the future. From the moment I saw
:18:02. > :18:05.the devastation, I just decided We can't lose people's
:18:06. > :18:12.livelihoods like this. I looked up at the shop sign
:18:13. > :18:22.and thought, that would make a perfect floodgate,
:18:23. > :18:25.so I started sketching a a few ideas It's just a case of
:18:26. > :18:44.sorting out a few seals. That will protect the bottom
:18:45. > :18:47.of the door that protects the top I also ended up doing an awful
:18:48. > :18:58.lot of extra fitting, rebuilding bookcases,
:18:59. > :19:00.converting the cases we can use We did a shop fitting up the road
:19:01. > :19:14.at the jewellers so all the shops They are having floodgates made
:19:15. > :19:24.for the doors of various descriptions because every
:19:25. > :19:29.shop is different. There has been a big
:19:30. > :19:31.friendship built up Seeing how it has affected them,
:19:32. > :19:55.I just don't want it How bad was it and how much do you
:19:56. > :19:58.all to this guy? -- owe. We owe everything to him, we have floods or
:19:59. > :20:03.five feet high in the shop but he was on hand and has done so much
:20:04. > :20:10.work in the shop for us. One lesson we really learned is that resilience
:20:11. > :20:13.is about the physical stuff in the shop but also about knowing you've
:20:14. > :20:18.got people in the community of fellow shopkeepers. All sorts of
:20:19. > :20:26.people who are there in the community to help you. I just
:20:27. > :20:30.couldn't see my town go downhill so you just have to do something, you
:20:31. > :20:43.can stand idly by and let this thing go on. -- you can't. I'm still a car
:20:44. > :20:48.mechanic, I'll always be a mechanic! It's been very emotional for you.
:20:49. > :20:54.We've had a very emotional and stressful year, my staff and other
:20:55. > :20:58.businesses in the town. 12 months on, it's still a difficult time,
:20:59. > :21:03.even very recently when the sirens went off. Yes, it's always at the
:21:04. > :21:07.back of your mind, mother nature is in charge, so we have to be aware of
:21:08. > :21:13.that. The other Monday when the flood alert came through on the
:21:14. > :21:19.flooding that imminent, we had to put our little plan in place. We did
:21:20. > :21:26.a little practice run. I don't want to do another. Let's hope you don't
:21:27. > :21:27.have to. For those who've been lucky enough
:21:28. > :21:30.to get back into their houses there's still the question
:21:31. > :21:36.of what if it happens again? Hebden Bridge has been flooded
:21:37. > :21:39.no less than 15 times Perhaps the residents
:21:40. > :21:50.here could learn from one couple in York who've taken radical steps
:21:51. > :21:52.to flood-proof their home. The fixtures and fittings
:21:53. > :22:01.in this riverside property in York are bespoke,
:22:02. > :22:07.waterproof and portable. Doors simply lift off hinges,
:22:08. > :22:15.fireplaces are removable, kitchen units slide
:22:16. > :22:16.out and downstairs, Jackie and David's house has flooded
:22:17. > :22:21.12 times in ten years. It didn't really faze us that
:22:22. > :22:27.much because we knew This is the view from their bedroom
:22:28. > :22:41.window and on a normal day, it is a stunning outlook,
:22:42. > :22:50.but last year, the water rose to just below the sign on the lamp
:22:51. > :22:53.post and caused extensive damage So bad that they had to move
:22:54. > :22:59.out for seven months. Now that walls are tiled,
:23:00. > :23:05.even in the lounge, the electrics on above the level and fire
:23:06. > :23:08.surrounds can be moved upstairs. Of course, the kitchen
:23:09. > :23:10.is our pride and joy, If we decide to lift
:23:11. > :23:17.everything in the kitchen, within half an hour,
:23:18. > :23:20.we can have everything stripped out. They are self-sufficient,
:23:21. > :23:22.but Jackie does have a contact at the council who sends down help
:23:23. > :23:28.with lifting the sofas. She rings him and within about ten
:23:29. > :23:31.or 15 minutes, too big, burly council workers come,
:23:32. > :23:40.lift the furniture and Living so close to the river
:23:41. > :23:44.instils a can-do attitude. They go so far as to
:23:45. > :23:49.say they're lucky. We have ample warning,
:23:50. > :23:51.we can actually see Once the water has dropped below
:23:52. > :23:55.the level of the floor, within two or three hours,
:23:56. > :23:58.we can swill it out, clean water, All set to enjoy a riverside
:23:59. > :24:15.lifestyle once again. Let's see what the weather prospects
:24:16. > :24:28.are. Because of the stormy weather,
:24:29. > :24:32.people are nervous about Christmas. It is very different to last year
:24:33. > :24:39.when we had a really wet December. As you saw today, the rain flew
:24:40. > :24:42.through and after Sunday's rain, we got another band of rain which could
:24:43. > :24:49.bring heavy rain for a short time, it is then going to be fine for the
:24:50. > :24:55.rest of the Christmas week. Christmas Eve is a blustery day with
:24:56. > :24:58.sunshine but some showers mainly across north and West Yorkshire and
:24:59. > :25:06.then Sunday, Christmas Day, another storm will affect the UK, Storm
:25:07. > :25:09.Connor. It is the wind rather than rain we are concerned about but
:25:10. > :25:17.there will be rain later on Christmas Day and we are looking at
:25:18. > :25:27.Gales developing. This was the radar from early. We had a gust of 70
:25:28. > :25:30.miles an hour and it will continue to be very breezy and winding
:25:31. > :25:35.overnight although perhaps not as windy as when that cold front went
:25:36. > :25:42.through. Clear spells and showers overnight with temperatures down to
:25:43. > :25:53.about three or four Celsius in rural areas. A other times of high water
:25:54. > :25:56.and sunrise. Tomorrow will be a bright day. There will be showers
:25:57. > :26:06.being blown through on that gusty breeze, perhaps wintry over the
:26:07. > :26:11.gales at first -- Yorkshire Dales at first. They will be sunshine for all
:26:12. > :26:15.in between the showers. It will be windy and it will feel cooler than
:26:16. > :26:20.today with temperatures in single figures around seven or eight
:26:21. > :26:24.Celsius. Further ahead to Christmas Day, very mild indeed. It will be
:26:25. > :26:28.cloudy and gales will develop through the day and it will be later
:26:29. > :26:32.on in the day. We'll have a band of heavy rain, Gales and bright and
:26:33. > :26:37.breezy on Monday but quietening down and perhaps for the next week.
:26:38. > :26:48.We're going to leave you with the children
:26:49. > :26:54.of Burnley Road School and the Yorkshire Imps.
:26:55. > :27:19.From all of us, have a very Merry Christmas. Good night.
:27:20. > :28:07.Christmas is about family. I'll have that.