THE YORK BRIEF ⏰ Wednesday, 3 December 2025

✨ HELLO YORK

This morning, York feels like a stage lit too brightly — an icon gone, a girl who should still be here, and a masked attacker slipping through shadows. But the city’s still alive with queues, victories, research bombs, and Christmas rail carnage.

York never does quiet. Let’s dive in.

Let’s go...

🌤️ WEATHER UPDATE

Rain clearing, then dry with highs of 8°C. Overnight lows drop to 1°C - proper December chill setting in. Met Office

💔 NEWS

💜 Purple Dreams, Purple Memories: York Says Goodbye to an Icon - Michael Todd - Purpleman - the man who stood motionless on Stonegate for years, frozen on his purple bike, battling invisible winds, spreading love through purple paintbrushes - is gone. Found dead at his Selby home last Thursday, aged 65. Natural causes, possibly a heart attack. The man who left behind “the unhappy Yuppie corporate world” to become Mr Windy in 2001, then transformed into Purpleman in 2007, teaching us all that happiness isn’t found by chasing it but by standing still long enough to find it within. YorkMix | Gazette & Herald | Yorkshire Live

💔 Ellie: The 16-Year-Old Who Won’t Come Home - Eleanor Hague - known as Ellie - just 16 years old, a Tadcaster Grammar School sixth-former from Sherburn in Elmet, died Monday afternoon when the minibus carrying nine students collided with a Hyundai i10 on Toulston Lane near her school. Despite everything emergency services tried, Ellie died at the scene. Another girl suffered serious injuries. A 40-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. T Gazette & Herald | YorkMix | Yorkshire Live

🚨 CRIME & APPEALS

🔨 Ski Mask, Hammer, Midnight: The Groves Robbery That Has Police Hunting - This is nasty. Just after midnight on November 23, a man on a bike attacked a victim on Lowther Street in the Groves with what witnesses described as a hammer. The attacker - roughly 5’10”, wearing a balaclava or ski mask - stole the victim’s wallet and left him with bruising and swelling. Details have only just been released. If you saw anything that night, police need to hear from you immediately. Quote reference 12250220954. YorkMix | Yorkshire Live

🚔 Acomb Crackdown: Police Launch Op Harmony After Youth Crime Spike - Police have had enough. Operation Harmony has launched in Acomb following a spike in anti-social behaviour, assaults, criminal damage and thefts involving young people. Acting Sergeant Ben Ambler called the recent behaviour “completely unacceptable” and promised increased patrols, dispersal powers, and close work with schools, social care, and City of York Council. Several youths have already been arrested or interviewed. The message is clear: this stops now. Gazette & Herald

🛍️ BUSINESS & RETAIL

👕 Next Arrives in Coppergate - And York Showed Up - Next opened its new three-storey Coppergate Centre flagship yesterday (Tuesday) to actual queues - 75 goodie bags handed out, ribbon cut, customers from Fife at the front who’d “stumbled across” the opening after spotting snooker legend Jimmy White around town. The store fills the old Topshop/Topman unit and it’s HUGE - womenswear and kids downstairs, menswear and homeware upstairs, plus a Bath and Body Works concession. Gazette & Herald | YorkMix

🏆 York Press Business Awards 2025: The Winners - Two York firms took home major honours at the prestigious York Press Business Awards at York Racecourse. Ellis Patents from Rillington won Large Business of the Year - the 63-year-old company manufactures safety-critical cable cleats, supplies infrastructure in over 50 countries, has a turnover exceeding £12 million and 70 employees. Gazette & Herald | York Press

🎓 Student Wins University Christmas Card Competition - Sam Armstrong, a third-year Graphic Design student at York St John University, won the inaugural Christmas card competition with a design inspired by advent calendars - a grid layout revealing different imagery that comes together to form a festive scene. His work will be professionally produced as the university’s official Christmas card. York St John University

Vice Chancellor Professor Karen Bryan praised his “thoughtful interpretation of the brief, strong colour choices, and a final outcome that captured every element perfectly.”

📚 RESEARCH & INVESTIGATIONS

🏘️ University Study: Criminal Landlords Operating “With Impunity” - Here’s the scandal hiding in plain sight. New research from the University of York - alongside universities in Northumbria and Sheffield - reveals that criminal landlords in the “shadow” private rental sector are getting away with rent-to-rent scams, slum rentals, illegal evictions, cannabis farms, and money laundering because enforcement is utterly toothless. Courts have issued fines as low as £100 for illegal eviction. University of York

🏥 HEALTH & CARE

🚨 Dementia Care Home Requires Improvement - CQC - Schoen Clinic York’s Wellen Court dementia care facility on Haxby Road has been told it “requires improvement” following a Care Quality Commission inspection. The facility, which provides specialist dementia care for up to 30 residents, has had a challenging history - previously placed in special measures in 2022 with 21 requirement notices issued. CQC

🚆 TRANSPORT & TRAVEL

🎄 Brace Yourself: 32 Days of Christmas Rail Chaos Between Leeds-York - If you’re planning Christmas travel between Leeds and York, listen up. THIRTY-TWO DAYS of disruption starting Christmas Day through January 25 as Transpennine Route Upgrade teams deploy 45 engineering trains, 879 rail wagons, three large cranes and three tamping trains. No trains will run between Leeds-York from December 27-29, then limited service until January 3. Rail replacement buses throughout. Yorkshire Evening Post

🚂 LNER Train From York Hit Twice Speed Limit - Passengers Injured - Safety investigators are probing why an LNER train that departed York on September 26 crossed points at Grantham at 56mph - more than TWICE the 25mph speed limit. The 07:08 Middlesbrough to London King’s Cross service via York lurched sideways, passengers reported minor injuries via social media, and the Rail Accident YorkMix

🙏 Network Rail Thanks York Passengers After Major Works - Rail passengers have been thanked for their patience following major engineering works that affected services in and around York over three days from November 29 to December 1. The works included bringing Darlington’s new signalling system online as part of the station’s £140 million upgrade - a key milestone that will help Network Rail better manage train flow, cut delays, and enable more services. Gazette & Herald

“The intensive programme over five weekends actually SAVED passengers two additional weekends of disruption compared to doing it the “normal” way.” - Jason Parrish, head of planning for Network Rail’s East Coast route,

🔇 Holgate Residents: Brace for Railway Noise Throughout December - If you live near the railway in Holgate, Network Rail has some bad news. Essential overnight railway works will cause noise and disruption throughout December - running from 11.45pm on Monday, December 2 until 6am on Friday, December 5, with more planned nights throughout the month. Network Rail apologised in advance but said the work is essential and must happen at night when fewer trains run. Gazette & Herald

🚦 York’s “Worst Junction” Getting £165k Upgrade - The junction of Foss Bank, Foss Island Road, Layerthorpe and Peasholme Green - officially York’s worst-condition traffic signal site - is getting a £165,000 refurbishment. The infrastructure is 27 years old, and council officers have approved works to start in early 2026. New, more reliable signals, better pedestrian crossings, and a direct link to the council’s traffic control centre for improved flow management. About time. Gazette & Herald | YorkMix

🏗️ PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

🌉 New Accessible Bridge to Replace Victorian Wilton Rise Structure - Network Rail has submitted plans for a new 4-metre-wide accessible walking and cycling bridge linking Holgate with the York Central development. The existing Victorian footbridge spanning railway tracks between Wilton Rise and Cinder Lane will be demolished and replaced with a modern structure featuring step-free access via ramps, benches for resting, and connections to Upper St Paul’s Terrace. York Press | YorkMix | Yorkshire Post

🏠 Victorian Hostel in Bootham Set to Become Family Homes - Empty Victorian buildings at Nos 27 and 28 St Mary’s in Bootham - which previously housed a 12-room temporary accommodation hostel - could be converted into two family homes (three and five bedrooms) under plans lodged with York Council. Gazette & Herald

💝 COMMUNITY & CHARITY

🎁 Morrisons Foundation Donates £1,000 to OSCAR’s - The Morrisons Foundation has donated £1,000 to OSCAR’s Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity to support their “Booster Boxes” project - personalised packages of toys, books, and gifts carefully chosen for children with brain tumours and their siblings across the UK. The Morrisons Foundation was established in 2015 and has donated more than £46 million over the past 10 years. Gazette & Herald

⚽ SPORT

⚽ York City’s Magnificent Seven: 5-1 Demolition of Aldershot

Forget six. Make it SEVEN. York City absolutely demolished Aldershot 5-1 on Saturday to secure their seventh consecutive win, staying second in the National League table. York haven’t lost in seven games and have collected 21 points from 21. The Minstermen are flying. Liphook Herald

⚽ York City Ladies Climb Out of Relegation Zone with 3-0 Win - York City Ladies celebrated back-to-back victories as they lifted themselves out of the FA Women’s National League Division One North relegation zone with a crucial 3-0 win at bottom club Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. They host Cheadle Town Stingers at York Sport Stadium this Sunday. York City FC

If Purpleman taught us anything, it’s to pause, breathe, and notice the magic hiding in the mess. York gave us plenty of both today.

See you in the morning.