Looking back at the stories behind the headlines in 2014

January:

• Cuts to bus services across the region were approved which left residents and town councillors with worries that the elderly would be left isolated. The decision, which campaigners had fought tirelessly against, was made at a North Yorkshire County Council meeting and despite bus users in Ryedale offering to pay towards their fares they were told that Government legislation would not allow it and the cuts went ahead. At the time, Coun Elizabeth Shields said: “Not only will many people be deprived of a means of using a basic service to visit the doctor, hospital, dentists and shop but also, for many people, deny them the opportunity of meeting friends and relatives in town.”

• Work began on the building site for a multi-million pound rehabilitation centre in Malton for injured jockeys. Jack Berry House, which was to be built on land adjacent to the rugby club off Old Malton Road, was expected to cost a total of about £3m. The state of the art rehab centre will include respite accommodation, a fitness centre, amenity areas and parking.

•Residents in Pickering were thrilled that work on a pioneering £2m scheme to combat flooding in the town got underway. More than two years after the first proposal had to be dropped due to escalating costs the construction work began on the long awaited flood storage reservoir. The scheme promised to improve protection for Pickering from the 25 per cent chance of flooding in any one year to four per cent less.

February:

• The parents of Claudia Lawrence spoke of their heartache as they prepared to mark her 40th birthday. Both her mother, Joan, and her father, Peter said that her disappearance has left them living in limbo with a constant raw pain that time does not heal. Her father said: “Not knowing is the hardest and it is something that never gets easier, but what I do know is that I will never give up looking for her.”

• Campaign group MASS, Malton Against Super Store, was set up to “lead the resistance” against renewed plans to build a supermarket on Wentworth Street car park. The group was supported by Totally Locally Malton and Norton, Malton and Norton Chamber of Trade and the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate. Member Emma Brooksbank said: “We all see it as a disaster for Malton and MASS is aiming to lead the resistance against a supermarket.”

• Ryedale MP Anne McIntosh vowed that she would continue working hard for the constituency she had “faithfully served” following the decision to deselect her. Ms McIntosh lost a ballot of about 560 local party members but said at the time that she would stand at the next General Election.

March:

• A woman who dedicated herself to rescuing and rehabilitating sick animals was presented with her MBE. Jean Thorpe of Norton was presented with the honour by Lord Crathorne, Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire at Natural England’s offices in Wheldrake, near York. Mrs Thorpe had been unable to attend Buckingham Palace to receive her award as she did not want to leave her animals for that long. On average, she rescues nearly 400 animals a year.

• Plans for an asphalt production plant at Whitewall Quarry in Norton were recommended for refusal by Ryedale District Council. The authority’s planning committee voted unanimously against the application with about 80 objectors attending the meeting for the vote. Coun Lindsay Burr said that if granted, the quarry would “have a negative impact on the town and surrounding area.”

• Gazette & Herald reporter Hannah Bryan spent a night on the streets to help raise money as part of the annual SASH big Sleepout in Kirkbymoorside. The event helps to raise awareness of the hidden problem of homelessness throughout Ryedale and raises hundreds of pounds every year.

April:

• Tributes were paid to a young man who died on April 7 after suffering a chest injection brought on by complications following a bone marrow transplant. Harvey Pettit, 20, had the ability to lift people with his personality and humour, his parents Jackie and David said. His dad said: “Harvey did not waste one minute. He was someone who quietly and selflessly got on with his life. He did not do negativity and handled everything in his own way, even in the most challenging of circumstances.”

• Families who care for someone full-time were left devastated when it was announced that Ryedale’s final respite centre was to close. Woodside, in Keld Head, Pickering, run by the Wilf Ward Family Trust, announced that it would stop providing spaces for short breaks because of funding issues. A spokesman said that the centre would reopen in 2015 as a four-bedroom residential care home.

• Detailed plans for a £17m livestock market, business park and about 300 homes in Malton were submitted to Ryedale District Council. The development, on land near Eden Camp, would include the relocation of the livestock market from its current site, 220 homes north of Pasture Lane, Malton, 35 homes south of Westgate, Old Malton and 45 homes in Peasey Hill, Malton.

May:

• Malton Food Lovers Festival drew in crowds of more than 20,000 as the Incredible Spice Men went down a storm at the event despite heavy showers across the weekend. The 2014 event also showcased the talents of Yorkshire chefs, including James MacKenzie, Andrew Pern, Steph Moon and Sara Dansin Medio, as well as television favourites The Chiappa Sisters and Jean-Christophe Novelli.

• Campaigners fighting to save Norton Bowls Club were delighted that they achieved their goal to stop the club from closure. Ryedale district councillors supported the sale of club to Ryedale Community and Leisure Centre. Councillor Di Keal, a district and town councillor, said at the time that she was thrilled that the club had been saved. She said: “I am absolutely delighted that Ryedale District Council finally saw the sense in agreeing to sell the building to a community group that will bring it back to life and will bring long-term benefits.”

• A man was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Claudia Lawrence five years after she disappeared. Police officers searched the home of 59-year-old Michael Snelling in Burnholme Grove, York. Claudia’s father Pete said at the time: “I’m very pleased they appear to be making progress by making this arrest.”

June :

• Malton held its first-ever cycle race ahead of the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire. Hundreds of spectators gathered in the town’s market place to watch different races from children’s to the elite. Malton’s Festival of Cycling was deemed a huge success and Ash Clark, of Northern Ride, who organised the event, said that the day had been “awesome”.

• A charity dedicated to helping struggling families with young children was given a major boost enabling it to continue its work. Home-Start Ryedale, in Norton, received £283,170 from the BIG Lottery Reaching Communities Fund. Jo Oliver, coordinator at Home-Start, said the five-year Lottery grant would help cover running costs and also enable it to extend the service into southern Ryedale. She said: “In a time when many charities are facing uncertain financial futures, to receive funds to continue our service for another five years is absolutely amazing news.”

• Ryedale began to give in to World Cup fever. Pupils at Malton Primary School celebrated with a World Cup Brazilian Street Party, while Sue Hoggard, of North Grimston, was inspired to knit mini-football mice. Sue made the mice after reading about the Mike’s Mice appeal in the Gazette & Herald, which was set up earlier in the year by Anne Soper to mark the 10th year since the death of her son, Mike, raising money for the Cardiomyopathy Association.

Part two of Hannah's 2014 review>>