5 things you need to know in Yorkshire today

No worries, here’s a preview of the most important news happening in Yorkshire today.

1. EU funds ‘vital’ to Yorkshire says top minister

As Prime Minister Theresa may comes under growing pressure to flesh out the Government’s Brexit plans, a senior minister has admitted money from the European Union is “vital” to Yorkshire. Yorkshire was due to receive around £661m in so-called “structural funds” to help grow the region’s economy in the current EU funding round. It remains unclear what will happen to EU money that has not been yet allocated to projects, raising fears the region could lose out on millions of pounds of investment. Senior Leave campaigners now in Government, including Boris Johnson and Priti Patel, promised during the referendum campaign that Yorkshire would not lose out financially from leaving the EU.

2. Late Emmerdale star’s organ donation saved lives of two people, family revealed

The sister of inspirational Emmerdale actress Kitty McGeever has revealed that her organs went to save the lives of two people. The 48-year-old was the first registered blind actress to have a starring role in a British soap. She died last year in August while waiting for a kidney transplant after complications with a previously transplanted kidney caused it to fail. The actresses diabetes and the stress of losing her 15-year-old son left her needing a kidney and pancreas transplant in 2006. After her death, her family followed Kitty’s wishes to donate her organs, and her sister has been told that two people have benefitted.

3. Why treasured parks are now facing a threat

The renaissance in the popularity of the nation’s public parks could now be under threat. Parks funding is falling, a new report from the Heritage Lottery Fund has warned, and action is needed now to avoid a coming crisis and an inevitable decline. Public parks are now more popular than ever, with visitor numbers increasing steadily in recent years and more than half of the UK’s population using them regularly. However, while their use is rising, the resource to manage them is declining, the HLF has said, with 92 per cent of parks managers having their budgets cut. The Parks Alliance has called on the Government to recognise the benefits delivered by parks and to take a joined up approach to funding them.

4. Fish but no chips as Michelin-starred chef Andrew Pern opens new restaurant in Whitby

Whitby will now be home to a signature restaurant run by one of Yorkshire’s leading chefs. Andrew Pern, who runs Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome and York’s Star Inn The City, will take over the town’s tourist information building for a new brasserie-style fish and seafood establishment. Mr Pern was born and raised in Whitby and played for the town’s rugby club won a pitch to take over the building on Langborne Road that is close to the harbour and overlooks Whitby Abbey. The new restaurant, to be called The Star Inn The Harbour is due to open next spring and will cater for tourists and locals alike, showcasing the region’s finest fresh fish and seafood. This will be his fourth Yorkshire eatery, following the recent opening of Mr P’s Curious Tavern, near York Minster.

5. One in four Yorkshire families move house to get kids into better schools

Around 28 per cent of families with children of a school age in the region have either bought or rented a new property in order to have an address within their preferred school catchment area, according to Standard Mortgages. The study also found that families are willing to spend an 11 per cent premium to be near the school they want their child to attend. Different regions were more or less likely to do so, with parents in London being the most likely to move in order to secure an address in their preferred school catchment area. Santander also found that 17 per cent of parents who moved for this reason also changed jobs in order to pay for the more expensive homes.