COVID has dominated headlines - but there have been other things going on in York. STEPHEN LEWIS reports in the final part of our review of the year

NEWS isn’t always just about the bad things. Good things do happen, too.

One of the most inspiring stories of the year was the search for the ashes of York City fans whose remains had been interred at Bootham Crescent.

With the club now based at the new community stadium, and work on redeveloping Bootham Crescent expected to start next year, stadium director Ian McAndrew was determined to leave no stone unturned.

The fans were ‘part of the York City family’, he said. There have been two digs at Bootham Crescent led by archaeologist Jason Wood. In all, 11 sets of fans ashes were recovered. They will be reinterred in the Bootham Crescent legacy area near the old Popular Stand once the site is redeveloped.

York Press:

The search for the ashes of York City fans at Bootham Crescent

Elsewhere, the first trees were planted near Knapton at what will become a new community woodland of more than 50,000 trees. And work was completed on the £35m Hudson Quarter development just inside the city walls near the railway station.

Clifford’s Tower has been under wraps for much of the year, but the major English Heritage restoration project is now drawing to a close. Work should be completed by the spring.

York Press:

'Topping out' the new wooden roof at Clifford's Tower

One major project that did not go ahead was the plan for a new ‘Roman Quarter’, complete with an underground Roman museum similar to Jorvik. The proposals, which also included a 10-storey development of 211 apartments, offices and shops in Rougier Street, were rejected by city councillors in February.

In the courts, a York jury decided that former Castle Howard aristo Simon Howard had sexually abused a child. The 65-year-old was not convicted of any crime, however, because, having suffered irreparable brain damage from a fall in early 2020, his case was dealt with under legislation for defendants who are mentally ill.

York Press:

Simon Howard

In July, farmer Trevor Coates was attacked in a field in Wigginton, and his arm was almost severed. He survived after hospital treatment, and his attacker, 70-year-old Stephen Harpin, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in February.

Disability campaigners were furious when the city council decided to extend controversial footstreet measures which left many blue badge holders saying they felt excluded from the city. And in November, a row blew up over the installation of ‘hideous’ anti-terrorism security barriers in the city centre ahead of the St Nicholas Fair.

York Press:

The 'ring of steel' that protects St Nicholas Fair and the city centre

The year ended with cases of coronavirus surging once again - though there does, at least, seem to be some evidence that the new Omicron variant is milder than previous variants of the virus.