THE YORK BRIEF ⏰ Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Good morning, York! 🏰 Tuesday brings a proper mix of everything that makes this city tick, justice served after a decade-long chase, a boxing prodigy who keeps knocking records over, a football stadium rallying around one of its own, and enough council news to make your tea go cold. Pull up a chair. Let's do this.

🚨 CRIME & JUSTICE

🔒 York-Based Investigators Help Jail Job Scam Fraudster After Near-Decade on the Run; A man who conned desperate jobseekers out of nearly £18,000 through a fake recruitment company has finally been jailed, ten years after fleeing to Thailand. Ashton Kevin Fredrick Saunders, 37, pleaded guilty to money laundering after his NJP Recruitment Ltd scheme tricked victims into paying up to £100 for bogus DBS checks on jobs that simply didn't exist. York Crown Court sentenced him to 14 months on 20 February, with Judge HHJ Morris calling him "a cheat, liar and fraudster" whose was "a wicked scam targeting vulnerable people desperate for work." He was deported from Thailand in August 2025. (Source: City of York Council)

👮 Senior North Yorkshire Police Officer to Face Gross Misconduct Hearing; Superintendent Andrew Berriman, head of specialist operations and learning and development at North Yorkshire Police, is facing a four-day gross misconduct hearing over allegations he failed to declare a conflict of interest, and then made a dishonest statement to a colleague. It is alleged that Berriman agreed to manage a grievance submitted by a Detective Chief Inspector without disclosing his association with a former Deputy Chief Constable named in that same grievance. He is further alleged to have told the DCI he had "no allegiances with anyone in North Yorkshire Police" - which the allegations say was untrue. If proven, gross misconduct can result in dismissal without notice. (Source: YorkMix)

📰 NEWS

🚗 Parking Consultation Closes Thursday; Have You Had Your Say? York residents have just days left to respond to the independent review of parking charges in Bishopthorpe Road, Heworth, Micklegate and The Groves. The consultation closes at 11:59 pm on Friday, 27 February. Traders and residents in the affected areas launched the formal Right to Challenge under the Traffic Management Act 2004, prompting the City of York Council to commission an independent review by Arup. Hundreds of responses have already come in, but if you've not yet been heard, now's the time. (Source: City of York Council | YorkMix)

🗑️ Wheelie Bins Could Replace York's Recycling Boxes - Council Begins Engagement; City of York Council is asking residents what they think about replacing the current recycling boxes with two new wheeled bins, one for dry recyclables, one for glass. The proposal, set to go before the Executive on 3 March, follows concerns about health and safety: council figures show 2,600 staff absence days were lost to musculoskeletal injuries in 2024-25 alone, largely from lifting the current heavy boxes. No decision has been made yet, and an engagement phase is underway before any changes are progressed. (Source: City of York Council | YorkMix | York News Focus)

👨‍👩‍👧 City of York Council Launches New Healthy Families Service; York has launched a new integrated Healthy Families Service, bringing together support for children and families under one roof. The service is being integrated with the Healthy Child Service, aiming to create a more joined-up approach to family wellbeing across the city. (Source: York Press)

🏗️ INFRASTRUCTURE

🚦 York's 'Worst Junction' Gets a £165K Upgrade; Expect Delays for 5 Weeks; Works began this week on a major £165,000 overhaul of the junction of Fossbank, Foss Island Road, Layerthorpe and Peasholme Green, the junction City of York Council describes as being in the worst condition of any it maintains. The five-week programme, running until 29 March, will see traffic controllers, signal heads, detection cameras, poles and cabling all replaced, along with a full conversion to ELV and LED lighting. Drivers should expect some disruption during work.

🚧 Part of Piccadilly to Stay Closed for Eight Months — Hotel Build Under Way; The south-east bound lane of Piccadilly has been closed since 3 February and will remain shut until 31 October - nearly nine months in total - to allow construction of a new 132-bedroom hotel on the former Swinson House site next to Spark: York. Drivers heading that way are being diverted via Merchantgate, Walmgate and St Denys Road. Left-hand turns from Dennis Street into Piccadilly have also been suspended, and on-street parking on the north-eastern side of the street between Dennis Street and Merchantgate is gone for the duration. The hotel project, part of the wider Castle Gateway masterplan, is expected to create 50 to 70 jobs and represents a total development value in excess of £25 million.

♻️ Click Before You Tip: Hazel Court Tip Booking Goes Live Sunday; Starting this Sunday, 2 March, York residents will need to book a slot online before visiting the Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling Centre. The new "Click Before You Tip" system introduces pre-booked timeslots to reduce queuing and congestion at the popular site. Booking opens immediately and is simple to do online. (Source: City of York Council | York Press)

👥 COMMUNITY

💛 York Community Rallies Around Cain North - £12,000 Raised for Family After His Death; York has come together to support the family of Cain North, the inspirational 24-year-old personal trainer from Acomb who died on 15 January after a three-year battle with a stage-four brain tumour. Cain, who raised over £16,000 for charity during his illness, including for York-based OSCAR's Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity, and was named the YorkMix Ultimate Hero in 2023, is being remembered as one of the city's most selfless souls. His funeral at York Crematorium was standing room only. Mourners came in to Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi and left to Live Forever by Oasis. Donations at the service went to St Leonard's Hospice. If you'd like to contribute, a JustGiving page set up by his best friend is still live.

🎁 GutmapDX Makes £500 Donation to York Foodbank; GutmapDX has made a £500 donation to York Foodbank following a fundraising event, providing a timely boost to the vital local charity as demand on food banks remains high across the country.

Over 2 billion people celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Did you know studies show improvements to gut microbiome diversity for people following the fasting window? From black seed oil in the… | GutMapDx

Over 2 billion people celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Did you know studies show improvements to gut microbiome diversity for people following the fasting window? From black seed oil in the Quran to fermented foods in the Bible, many religious teachings often have benefits for the gut microbiome.

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🏃 SPORT

❤️ A Whole Stadium Stopped for Harry Rowntree - York City's Incredible Show of Support; In one of the most moving moments York City has witnessed this season, referee Alan Dale halted Saturday's match against FC Halifax Town in the 16th minute for a minute's applause, players, staff and all four stands joining as one, in support of York City under-16s captain Harry Rowntree, who was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in January. Harry, just 16, is now undergoing treatment and has been raising money for Leeds-based Candlelighters Trust. Jorvik Radio captured the beautiful scene on video. T

🥊 Leo Atang Makes It 5-0; York's Boxing Prodigy Stays Perfect in Nottingham; York heavyweight Leo Atang extended his flawless professional record to 5-0 at Nottingham Arena on Friday, 21 February, defeating Dan Garber on the undercard of the Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington rematch. The 19-year-old - all 6 feet 6 inches of him - turned pro in April 2025 with Matchroom Boxing and has been a wrecking ball ever since, with four of his five wins coming by knockout. Trained from day one by Ash Martin at Legions Boxing Club in York, Atang is already being tipped as Britain's next heavyweight star.

🏟️ Acomb Youth Trouble Down 72% as Operation Harmony Delivers Results; North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that youth-related anti-social behaviour in Acomb has plummeted by 72 per cent since the York Outer Neighbourhood Policing Team launched Operation Harmony in December. The targeted operation has seen more than 30 youths engaged directly, with dispersal orders covering Acomb, Holgate, Foxwood, Chapelfields, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe. The disorder that triggered the operation included shop thefts, criminal damage and violence. Local officers say they intend to keep the pressure on. (Source: YorkMix | York Press)

🏥 HEALTH

💻 Digital Therapy Uptake Rising Across North Yorkshire NHS - What It Means for York Residents; More people across North Yorkshire are accessing digital mental health therapies through the NHS Talking Therapies service, a trend that reflects both rising demand and a deliberate shift in how care is being delivered. The service, which offers NICE-approved therapies including CBT for conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD and social phobia, has been expanding its digital offer as referral numbers have reached record highs nationally.

🎨 ARTS & CULTURE

📚 York Literature Festival Returns This Saturday - 45+ Events Across March; One of York's great cultural celebrations is back. The York Literature Festival opens this Saturday,. It runs from 28 February and runs through to 30 March, with more than 45 events taking place across the city, from Theatre@41 and York Explore Library to St Peter's School Memorial Hall and Joseph Rowntree School. Highlights include Pulp guitarist Mark Webber discussing his memoir I'm With Pulp, Are You?; activist-journalist Laura Bates delivering a keynote on AI and the new age of sexism; and TikTok spoken word sensation Isabella Dorta, back in York to celebrate her new book I Don't Think I'm Straight. There's also a spooky first: York's inaugural Festival of Hauntology on 21-22 March, bringing together folk horror authors including Ramsey Campbell and Andrew Michael Hurley. Weekend passes have already sold out, but individual event tickets remain available. (Source: York Literature Festival)

🎓 EDUCATION

🏛️ St Peter's School Embarks on Its Most Significant Campus Transformation in a Generation; St Peter's School, one of the oldest schools in the world, founded in 627 AD, is undergoing a sweeping campus transformation led by York-based architects brown + Company (Blossom Street), ahead of a landmark move from a three-school to a two-school model by September 2026. The project includes a new dedicated Junior School, a Sixth Form Centre (already partly open, with sixth formers in politics, economics and history of art now using new facilities), a remodelled dining hall, a new medical and wellness centre, a Sixth Form café and common room, and a refurbished cricket pavilion.

📖 Specialist Sixth Form College Hosting Open Event in York: A specialist sixth form college is hosting an open event in York for students and families interested in exploring post-16 options. Full details are available via YorkMix.

🌍 REGIONAL - WHAT'S ON & WHAT AFFECTS YORK

🏖️ Yorkshire Holiday Park Urges Government to Scrap 'Holiday Tax' Plans; The national debate over a proposed visitor levy is heating up, and Yorkshire's tourism industry is pushing back hard. A Yorkshire Coast holiday park operator has joined over 200 hospitality and leisure bosses, including Butlin's, Travelodge and Hilton, in calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to abandon plans to give regional mayors the power to introduce overnight visitor levies. The levy, which could be applied as either a flat 5% rate or £2 per person per night (including children), has sparked alarm across the sector. This debate is directly relevant to York: North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith has been actively meeting over 100 hospitality businesses across the region, including in York, to develop plans for a potential levy. On Monday, a Michelin-starred chef backed the idea; the tourism industry says it would hit families hardest and risk thousands of jobs. You can register your view with your MP at stoptheholidaytax.uk. .

🎉 Mothering Funday Returns to Harrogate - Free Family Day Out on 15 March. Planning a Mother's Day outing within reach of York? Harrogate BID's popular Mothering Funday returns on Sunday 15 March, 11 am–3 pm, at the Victoria Shopping Centre Piazza, just 23 miles from York. The centrepiece is the returning 'Wipeout' inflatable challenge, where families compete to stay on a rotating platform and win prizes including a £100 Harrogate Gift Card. The event is completely free to attend. (Source: York Press)