THE YORK BRIEF ⏰ Friday, 6 November 2026

Morning, York. The city's first ice rink in 16 years is taking shape behind the Art Gallery, ready for Friday 13 November. Also today: a watchdog finds a non-verbal autistic boy went more than a year without the Makaton support his plan required, York lands £625,000 for a new veterans centre, and Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint hits cinemas this morning.

⛸️ York's first city-centre ice rink in 16 years takes shape

York's first city-centre ice rink since 2010 is going up behind York Art Gallery, ready to open on Friday 13 November and run until Sunday 3 January. Thor's Tipi is building a covered outdoor real-ice rink with a see-through roof, so you can skate in the rain and still see the sky, with Lucia's Après Bar on the gallery balcony for festive cocktails, mulled drinks, an Irish spice bag and crumble pots, plus a promised snow shower every hour. "There's no ice to skate on yet, but it's all coming together," director Amanda Monaghan told YorkMix. "I think we're very pleased with progress so far… Hopefully, we'll get plenty of people out there skating – and of course you've got the lovely views of the walls and the buildings and the history of York as well." Sessions run daily from late morning into the evening at Museum Gardens (YO1 7FR), and tickets are on sale at thorsoniceyork.co.uk. Dig out the mittens.

👉 Read more: YorkMix · THOR's on ICE

📰 NEWS

🧒 Watchdog: autistic boy left without Makaton support for over a year

A non-verbal autistic boy was left without the specialist communication support set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan for more than a year because of faults by City of York Council, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found. The boy's plan required every classroom staff member to be trained to Makaton levels three and four, but for more than a year either nobody, or at most one person, held that qualification, with training described as "patchy and slow". Ombudsman chief executive Julie Odams said a legal duty to a disabled child "is not something a council can work around". The council arranged Makaton training and offered a financial remedy after the family complained; the ombudsman welcomed that but recommended a further payment. Corporate director of children's services Martin Kelly said the report was based on circumstances almost three years ago and that the council has since invested further in the local workforce.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

⚖️ Man banned from city-centre venues after nightclub sexual assault

Keiron Barlow, 24, of Howden, has been banned from all licensed venues in the YO1 postcode for six months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a woman at Club Salvation on George Hudson Street. York Magistrates' Court heard he "lunged" at the woman and grabbed her breasts on the dance floor. He denied the offence but was convicted on 8 October and given a 12-month community order, plus £964 in costs including £200 compensation. In a statement read to the court, the woman said she no longer feels she can trust people as she did before and is "constantly nervous" going into town.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

🌧️ El Niño warning: a wetter winter for the Ouse and Foss

City of York Council's highways lead Steve Wragg says this winter is expected to be wetter locally because of El Niño, with "heavy and intense rain" likely to show up in the Ouse and Foss. York's flood defences, built up after 2007 and 2015, are good, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, but they can't eliminate risk entirely and the council will be monitoring rivers around the clock. A significant El Niño is likely towards the end of this year and could be among the strongest on record, according to the Government; its impact on Europe is still uncertain. Residents worried about flooding should check the council and Environment Agency online resources.

👉 Read more: YorkMix · York Press

🚗 A64 racked up 5,200 hours of closures since 2020

Drivers between York and the coast have faced more than 5,200 hours of A64 closures since the start of 2020, National Highways data released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows: 671 closure shifts totalling 5,224 hours between Hopgrove roundabout and Scarborough, most of them planned roadworks rather than crashes. National Highways says maintenance is vital so the route "continues to operate safely and effectively". Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake called the figures "stark but sadly unsurprising" and said the road "is simply not fit for purpose".

👉 Read the full story at YorkMix

🎖️ £625,000 for a new veterans centre at West Offices

York is one of just 20 places in the country to win funding through the Government's VALOUR programme, securing £625,114 for a dedicated veterans support centre. It is due to open at West Offices in January 2027 and run until March 2030, working with York Learning, Age UK York, York Carers Centre and York CVS on housing, wellbeing, employment, skills and social connection. Over three years it is expected to support around 1,500 veterans and a further 3,000 family members. Council leader and Armed Forces champion Cllr Claire Douglas called it "absolutely fantastic news for York, our veterans, their families and our wider Armed Forces community".

👉 Read more: City of York Council · York Press

🚨 PSPOs eyed for Acomb Front Street and Haxby

After approving stronger public space protection order powers for the city centre, the council executive has agreed to look at bringing similar orders to Acomb's Front Street and Haxby. Westfield ward councillor Andrew Waller said antisocial behaviour on Front Street was deterring elderly residents and families from the shops. City-centre PSPO powers, backed by more than 500 survey responses, would let officers remove people for up to four hours for aggressive, disruptive or alcohol-fuelled behaviour, and tighten rules on people pressuring others for money or donations.

👉 Read more: YorkMix · York Press

🚔 Mischief Night blitz: 14 arrests, weapons and drugs seized

North Yorkshire Police's Operation Tornado on Mischief Night (4 November) led to 14 arrests across York and Selby, four warrants, and the seizure of two knives, four swords and an illegally owned air rifle. Officers also recovered around 100 wraps of suspected crack cocaine and about £1,000 in cash from a York hotel room, charging a 19-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man with supplying Class A drugs, and recovered about £150,000 of stolen property linked to an HGV trailer theft from Selby. New police e-bikes were trialled during the day.

👉 Read the full story at YorkMix

🏙️ AROUND THE CITY

🎄 Christmas Market returns from Thursday 12 November

York's Christmas Market is back on Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square from Thursday 12 November to Monday 21 December, with Alpine chalets, local crafts and seasonal food, open 10.30am to 7pm. Elsewhere, the Grand Hotel's free Christmas light switch-on is on Friday 13 November from 5pm (lights at 5.30pm), and Little Bird's Acomb Christmas Market runs Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November on Front Street.

👉 Read more: YorkMix (markets) · YorkMix (switch-ons)

🅿️ MP renews call for action on York Hospital parking

York Outer MP Luke Charters says parking at York Hospital is "clearly not working" for patients, visitors and staff, after fine income across the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust rose by more than 50 per cent in just over a year and the number of spaces at York Hospital dropped by 192 in three years. The trust says charge notices help keep access safe and that parking income is reinvested in car parks and sustainable travel. Staff have described availability as "atrocious".

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

🍺 Samuel Smith's lists North Yorkshire pubs for "other uses"

Tadcaster brewery Samuel Smith's has put more than 20 pubs up for sale in recent months, with some listings specifying "non-pub use only". CAMRA warns that converting a pub still needs planning permission and says other operators and community groups should get "a fair shot". The brewery says the properties are "no longer viable" as pubs. Among those already sold are the former Wellington Inn in Knaresborough and the Cross Keys in Stillingfleet.

👉 Read the full story at BBC News

⚽ SPORT

Morgan Williams out for around 10 weeks

York City centre-back Morgan Williams is expected to miss at least 10 weeks with a grade-two MCL injury and a meniscus tear after falling awkwardly against Barnet, head coach Scott Lindsey has confirmed. Surgery is being considered. "It's not good news unfortunately and a big miss for us," Lindsey said. Williams has already missed six of City's 14 league games this season. All eyes now on Saturday's FA Cup tie at home to Northampton Town, 3pm at the LNER Community Stadium.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

Knights sign winger Andy Djeukessi

York Knights have signed 23-year-old winger Andy Djeukessi on a one-year deal from Newcastle Thunder, where he scored 21 tries in 23 appearances last season. He appeared on loan for York in their 34-32 win over St Helens and made his Super League debut with Castleford in 2025. "He got a taste of Super League last year and I'm keen to let him build on that," says head coach Mark Applegarth. Pre-season starts on Monday 9 November.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

🎭 CULTURE / What's On

🎬 Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint is in cinemas today

The York-shot Christmas film Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint, starring John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Richard E Grant and Karl Pilkington, is released in cinemas today. Spot Colliergate, Precentor's Court, Grape Lane and Lower Priory Street. City Screen hosts a special screening with a Q&A with John Bradley and director Jack Spring on Monday 9 November from 7pm. York City FC has also teamed up with the film-makers for the release.

👉 Read more: York Press · York Press (City partnership)

🧵 Lost artwork returns in big York Art Gallery show

York Art Gallery will open Interwoven: Stories of Women, Textiles and Art on 5 February 2027 (until 6 June), featuring contemporary textile art plus Relative Ties, a touring show of three generations of Nicholson women artists from the Women's Art Collection at Cambridge, including work lost from public view for more than 100 years.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

🎨 Inspired York Christmas Show this weekend

Inspired York marks 20 years of its Christmas show at York Cemetery Chapel on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, 10am to 5pm, with local jewellers, ceramicists, printmakers and guest textile and mixed-media artists. A good place to start the Christmas shopping without the crush of Parliament Street.

👉 Read the full story at the York Press

📅 THIS WEEK IN YORK

👻 Ghosts After Dark, until Sunday 8 November 70 ghost sculptures in the Museum Gardens, 5.30pm to 9.30pm, £10 adults, £2 children.

🎬 Aesthetica Film Festival and Radical Listening trail, until Sunday 8 November Films and installations around the city.

🎨 Inspired York Christmas Show, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November York Cemetery Chapel, 10am to 5pm.

⚽ York City v Northampton Town, Saturday 7 November FA Cup first round at the LNER Community Stadium, 3pm.

🕊️ Remembrance Sunday, Sunday 8 November Parade leaves Clifford's Tower at 10.20am for the City War Memorial on Leeman Road; service from 10.58am.

⛸️ THOR's on ICE opens Friday 13 November Covered ice rink behind York Art Gallery, until 3 January.

Sources: BBC News (ghosts) · York Press (trail) · York Press (Inspired York) · City of York Council (Remembrance) · YorkMix (ice rink)

☄️ AND FINALLY...

Camelia Andrei and her daughter were driving from Osbaldwick to Monks Cross at 6.40am yesterday when three balls of fire lit up the sky. She filmed them from the passenger seat: "They were so intense. I said that's not an aeroplane." Online suggestions ranged from military flares near Strensall barracks to meteors burning up. "Regardless of what these objects actually were… the experience was quite frightening," she told YorkMix. "For a moment, you genuinely wonder what you are witnessing." Bonfire Night leftovers, or something stranger? Either way, it beat the usual Ring Road queue.

👉 Read the full story at YorkMix