Simon Read
Business Reporter

Property values climbed more than three times as much in Yorkshire and Humber as in south-east England, new figures show.

Land Registry figures for December also revealed a post-election boost, with London prices rising 1.6%.

The end-of-year surge meant all regions saw a positive annual growth rate for the first time since February 2018.

UK average house prices increased by 2.2% over the year to December 2019, up from 1.7% in the previous month.

They rose 3.9% in Yorkshire and the Humber last year, but just 1.2% in the South East.

The average UK house price reached a record high of £235,000 in December 2019, £5,000 more than a year earlier.

These are the latest pictures of the flooded River Ouse in the centre of York:

The Environment Agency (EA) says the river is currently 3.7m above its normal level, which means it's fallen 0.5m in the last 24 hours.

The EA says river levels are slowly falling, but has issued a total of 18 flood warnings, external in Yorkshire for the Ouse, Swale, Ure, Derwent and Aire.

The Met Office is warning of more heavy rain later this week and has issued a yellow weather warning, external for "persistent rain" from lunchtime on Friday until 06:00 Saturday.

Immediate financial help should have been given sooner, the MP for Calder Valley says.

A British Army officer has become the first woman to pass a gruelling Parachute Regiment entry test.

Image source, MoD

Capt Rosie Wild, 28, was described as a "trailblazer" after passing the P Company course at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire - a course which many men fail.

Several women have attempted P Company, also known as the All Arms Pre-Parachute Selection (AAPPS), since they were first able to apply in the 1990s.

Physical challenges across the five days include a timed 20-mile endurance march and an aerial assault course.

Capt Wild was awarded the coveted maroon beret of the Parachute Regiment, or the Paras, on Tuesday - though she will not join the regiment.

She will serve in 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery which is attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Army's rapid reaction force.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Two community transport schemes in Scarborough and Whitby are set to benefit from almost £70,000 in new funding.

North Yorkshire County Council will make grants to Dial-a-Ride Scarborough and to Whitby and District Community Transport after both charities made bids for cash from the authority.

The Scarborough-based charity provides “safe, reliable, affordable and accessible” community transport for older people, people with a disability or those with limited access to public transport.

The charity asked the county council for £29,293 towards a new wheelchair-accessible minibus to replace an existing minibus which is increasingly expensive to maintain.

Whitby and District Community Transport is to be given £39,903 for an additional minibus to extend its current dial-a-ride service into the Esk Valley.

The funding is expected to be signed off at a meeting of senior councillors on Friday.

A North Yorkshire man's been renamed "Dr Do-Ripon" after rescuing a monkey from a cage in Wales and turning a primate into a housemate.

Steffan Morrall, from Ripon, says Henry the marmoset has become part of the family.

Mr Morrall, who also has two dogs, says Henry gets on very well with his canine comrades and even grooms them when they get a bit knotted:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Help and support for people affected by recent flooding in the Calder Valley is still available, Calderdale Council has reminded local residents and businesses.

Image source, The Afghan Rug Shop via Reuters

Hundreds of people were hit by flooding during Storm Ciara earlier this month - with a narrow escape at the weekend with Storm Dennis.

Six community hubs across the borough have continued to provide support and supplies throughout the aftermath of the floods, according to Calderdale Council.

The Brighouse "hub" has now moved to the Brighouse Bid offices on Bradford Road, while the other hubs continue to operate at Todmorden Town Hall, Hebden Bridge Town Hall, Mytholmroyd Library, Sowerby Bridge Library, and Calder House at Southgate in Elland.

Calderdale Council says it's been working closely with partner organisations and volunteers to clean up, clear gullies and support residents and businesses.

They are also checking and clearing vulnerable infrastructure, prioritising flood-prone areas.

The council's control room will remain open and the flood hubs will continue to operate as a precaution with more rain expected later this week, the authority says.

A theatre production about the people who lived at Sheffield's landmark Park Hill flats is being transferred to London's National Theatre, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Johan Persson

Standing at the Sky's Edge is set in Sheffield and features music by Richard Hawley, who is from the city.

Set in the flats overlooking the city centre, the Sheffield production sold out its run in March 2019 at the Crucible Theatre.

The musical also won Best Musical Production at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.

Image source, Daniel Hopkinson/RIBA

Park Hill flats opened in 1961 as one of the most ambitious inner-city housing schemes of its time and are Europe's largest listed structure.

In subsequent years, the flats became notorious for crime, drugs and violence.

While some of the flats have since been given a multi-million pound facelift (pictured above), other parts remain derelict.

Standing at the Sky's Edge will debut in London in January 2021, according to the National Theatre.

A 19-year-old woman has died after being found unconscious at a bus stop in Leeds this morning, police say.

Image source, Google

She was discovered by a member of the public at a bus shelter in South Parkway, Seacroft, just after 05:00, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The woman was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

The bus stop near the junction with Ironwood View remains cordoned off while the circumstances of her death are investigated, the force said.

At the moment her death is being treated as "unexplained", according to police.

Anyone who witnessed anything near the bus stop which might help police is being asked to contact the West Yorkshire force.

A man's been charged following an armed robbery in South Yorkshire in which a shopkeeper was threatened with a knife and a screwdriver last year.

Image source, Google

The shop owner was threatened as two men took charity boxes and cash from the till at the Premier Store on Burncross Road in Sheffield on the afternoon of 10 September 2019.

Between £500 and £700 was stolen, along with 100 packets of cigarettes and the victim’s wallet, police say.

Steven Gillis, 42, of Victoria Street, Barnsley, was charged on Monday with robbery and theft of a motor vehicle in connection with this incident.

He appeared before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court yesterday and was remanded in custody.

He is next due to appear at court on 17 March.

A 26-year-old man was also arrested and remains on police bail, police say.

Work's begun on a £750,000 project to repair part of Beverley Minster's 13th Century roof.

Lead is being replaced and damaged timbers conserved on the medieval lesser transept roof at the East Yorkshire landmark.

Reverend Wendy Wale, associate vicar at Beverley Minster, says: "That part of the roof where the scaffolding has just gone up has to be a priority because it has 60 leaks.

"The medieval roof timbers are at risk completely. The lead has worn out and stonework eroded."

The Conservative MP for Calder Valley says he's "furious" it's taken nine days for the government to trigger funding for flood-hit communities such as his constituency.

Image source, Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Over 1,180 properties flooded in the Calder Valley as a result of Storm Ciara - the third time in about eight years flooding has hit the area Craig Whittaker MP represents.

The government announced last night that thousands of pounds of support, including grants, council tax relief and business rate relief, will be made available for people and businesses in areas affected by flooding, external.

But Mr Whittaker says while the money will make a "huge difference", the wait for the funding to be announced has been too long.

He said: "It's nine days since the floods in the Calder Valley and I've been hammering on doors in Whitehall every day since to try and get this funding triggered.

"Last time, in 2015, Cobra [the government's emergency committee] was called. This time, because it was more isolated to the Calder Valley, Cobra wasn't called. So all the ministers weren't in one room to agree a funding package.

"Waiting nine days for people who've been flooded is just not good enough," he said.

The MP urged the government to lower the criteria for individuals to qualify for help, adding that the government had been "failing at delivering in a timely fashion".

A total of 20 flood warnings still in place, external in Yorkshire this morning following Storms Ciara and Dennis.

They've been issued by the Environment Agency for the Ouse, Swale, Ure, Derwent and Aire.

River levels are now falling, with the Ouse in York now at 3.7m above its normal level, external.

However, the Met Office is warning of more heavy rain later this week and has issued a yellow weather warning, external for "persistent rain," from lunchtime on Friday until 06:00 Saturday.

Forecasters say the rain may lead to flooding and travel disruption during Friday daytime and Friday night.

BBC News Travel

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Wednesday morning, most services appear to be running generally to time.

However:

• The 08:30 Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street service has been cancelled
• The 08:58 York to London Kings Cross service has been cancelled

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station, external
• Leeds Station, external
• Sheffield Station, external
• Hull Station, external
• Doncaster Station, external
• Wakefield Westgate, external
• Bradford Interchange, external
• Bradford Forster Square, external

One of North Yorkshire's main roads is going to be closed for nearly three weeks after being damaged by flooding.

The A19 south of Selby is currently shut in both directions between Chapel Haddesley and Wand Lane.

It means diversions for traffic trying to get from Selby to the M62.

The road's likely to be shut until 9 March, according to North Yorkshire County Council.

Tuesday's National League game between Barnet and Harrogate Town is abandoned at half-time because of unplayable conditions.

Huddersfield Giants loan back-rower Oliver Roberts to fellow Super League club Salford Red Devils, with a right to recall.

Landowners have given their backing to a global company's bid to take over the development of what's planned to be the world's biggest potash mine in North Yorkshire.

Image source, reuters

Shareholders decide next month whether to support Anglo American's buy-out of Scarborough-based Sirius Minerals.

Sirius had aimed to raise £522m, but last week said talks had fallen through with a consortium of financial investors.

Some shareholders say they're concerned they'll lose out if the offer from Anglo American to buy Sirius at 5.5p per share goes ahead.

Image source, Sirius Minerals

The £4bn mine is set to open in 2021 and has the potential to create up to 1,000 jobs.

If developed, it would be the world's largest mine for polyhalite, which is used in agriculture.

Plans include a 23-mile tunnel to transport minerals to a processing plant on Teesside.

Opponents have said the mine and its operations would damage the landscape and harm wildlife.

The vote is next month, but the Yorkshire Coast Mineral Association, which represents small landowners, has backed the bid saying it will be a tragedy for the area if the mine isn't built.

Sirius has warned it could go into administration if the deal isn't agreed.

A 125-year-old North Yorkshire football club has said this could be its last season after its stadium was flooded for the second time in 12 months.

Tadcaster Albion, on the banks of the River Wharfe at Tadcaster, launched an appeal following what it estimates is £42,000 worth of damage caused by Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.

The side, who play in the North West division of the Northern Premier League, are next due to play at the ground on 7 March, but the pitch is currently under 1.6m of water.

The club says it's now in the process of pumping away the water and repairing damaged equipment, a tractor, lawn mowers, the pitch and clubhouse.

President Kevin Derry says: "By the weekend we should be clear again and then it's a matter of clearing up and getting into the clubhouse properly where water's come through the roof."

A JustGiving page set up to raise £12,000 has so far reached a total of £4,910.

The drug dealers with business cards and a home delivery service for cocaine and ecstasy.