Find out what’s in store for the coming year
Brexit, Bond. a new leisure complex, railway station improvements, The Specials, Olympics and Southgate’s England. Just some of the events to anticipate in 2020 across West Yorkshire and beyond. James Carney reports
BRITAIN is set to leave the EU on January 31. The country is then set to enter a transition period until the end of the year. During this period the UK’s trading relationship will remain in place while a new deal is reached.
LABOUR will choose a new leader to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after the party’s dismal performance in last year’s general election.
PLANS to reinvent Wakefield’s waterfront as a leisure complex with bars, restaurants, a hotel and a gallery have been approved with work expected to start early this year. The wide-reaching planning application means the go-ahead has been given to transform Rutland Mills on the edge of the city centre, just south of Kirkgate and the Hepworth.
NEW James Bond film No Time to Die will be released in April. It will be the fifth and final time that Daniel Craig has played the role of the spy.
THE 75TH anniversary of end of Second World War will be commemorated. The conflict ran from 1939 to 1945 and up to 85 million people were killed. The occasion will be marked in May.
CASTLEFORD, Featherstone, Knottingley, Normanton, Pontefract Tanshelf, Pontefract Monkhill and Streethouse railway stations are set to benefit from improvement work. Improvements planned include platform extensions to accommodate longer trains.
FORMER council building Chantry House in Wakefield city centre is set to be demolished and replaces with houses. It is hoped that the demolition of the building, along with the derelict Snooty Fox pub nearby, will kickstart regeneration in the Kirkgate the area.
IN JUNE ska act The Specials will be rocking the Piece Hall in Halifax on June 27.
Expect to hear their number one hits like ‘Too
Much Too Young’ and ‘Ghost Town’.
LEEDS band the Kaiser Chiefs will be rocking the same venue on July 4 and July 5.
Another big name to perform at the Piece Hall, Halifax during 2020 is Sheffield musician Richard Hawley. This will be his only Northern live show of the summer and it promises to be a special show on Friday, July 3.
THE OLYMPIC Games and
Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo this summer. It is predicted that the US will win the highest number of medals followed by China and Japan, with Britain in fifth place. The event follows the summer games in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
GLASTONBURY will mark its 50th anniversary. The headliners confirmed for this year include Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Diana Ross. Last year’s festival included performances from Kylie Minogue, The Cure. The Killers and a headlininggrabbing slot from Stormzy.
CASTLEFORD’S Millennium Bridge will mark its 12th anniversary.
THE NEXT stage of US president Donald Trump’s impeachment process will take place. The Democratic Party held House of Representatives voted to impeach the president over allegations he improperly sought help from Ukraine for damaging information on a domestic political rival. The decision would have to find support in the Republican-held Senate if President Trump is to be removed from office. He denies any wrongdoing.
BOTH Sony and Microsoft are set to launch new video games consoles.
CASTLEFORD, Pontefract and Wakefield will welcome the return of the Roman, liquorice and rhubarb festivals.
A ‘HIGH-QUALITY’ passenger waiting facility with a ticket vending machine, new seating and a disabled toilet are among the plans to make the station a more welcoming gateway to Castleford town centre.
PLANS are now in place to redevelop the Grade-II listed Bretton Hall into a high-end hotel. Real estate company Rushbond, alongside Wakefield Council, has appointed hospitality firm Artfarm to bring the building in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
THE TOUR de Yorkshire is making a return to the Piece Hall, Halifax in May. The major cycling event has used the iconic venue as a starting point for the final day of racing over the past few years and fans are expected to flock to see the riders.
SEQUELS to 1980s classic films Ghostbusters, Top Gun, and Bill and Ted will be released.
UP TO 500 jobs could be created by a new retail and leisure development which will be built on the east side of Wakefield. The plans for City Fields include a new Morrison’s.
THE UEFA European Football Championship will be held in cities across the continent, including Glasgow, Dublin and London. Gareth Southgate’s England are currently favourites to win the title following a strong performance in the 2018 World Cup.
CAPA College in Wakefield city centre is expected to be completed. Work started on the college in October but was halted last month when Construction group Clugston, which was working on the building, went into administration.
APRIL will see tourists flock to Calderdale for the first Anne
Lister Festival. A number of events are set to take place across the month including talks on the 19th century landowner’s life as well as a walk around Shibden Hall.
DISNEY will launch its streaming service in the UK. The service will home to films and TV programmes from the media giant and compete with Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime for viewers.
CONSTRUCTION work on the £21 million Five Towns Leisure and
Wellbeing Hub began earlier last year and is expected to finish by Autumn.
THE UNITED States will go to the polls to elect a new president. Voters will have the option to put Donald Trump back in the White House for four more years. The Democratic Party has not yet selected a candidate to challenge Trump.
IN DECEMBER it will be the 250th anniversary of the birth of composer Ludwig Van Beethoven.