Leanne Clarke

4 days ago | wakefieldexpress.co.uk | Leanne Clarke

Representatives from the local business community have joined Wakefield Council to celebrate another great year of business investment and growth. The Top 100 Companies in Wakefield event was launched last year, and this year’s event continues to build on that success, with many of the businesses listed attending. This year three new categories were introduced. The first recognised the importance and value of small to medium sized enterprises (SME’s).

4 days ago | wakefieldexpress.co.uk | Leanne Clarke

A scheme to provide renewable energy to power classrooms by installing solar panels at schools across the district is now underway. Ackworth Howard School is the first to benefit as part of £2million investment from not-for-profit organisation, Solar for Schools Community Benefit Society. The school’s solar panels are now installed and generating power.

4 days ago | wakefieldexpress.co.uk | Leanne Clarke

Staff at a school in Wakefield are taking action in protest at an academy trust's plans to extend the day for students and teachers. The NASUWT teaching union said teachers at a number of schools run by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), including Outwood Grange Academy on Potovens Lane, were taking part in six days of action, with the first being this morning (Tuesday, June 3).

5 days ago | wakefieldexpress.co.uk | Leanne Clarke

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bainbridge has been announced as the new District Commander for Wakefield. Chief Supt Bainbridge joined West Yorkshire Police in 1997 with an initial posting to Dewsbury before following the detective pathway at Pontefract as a trainee investigator in the new Wakefield District. He was soon promoted to Killingbeck and back in uniform for a short period before taking up a role as Detective Sergeant in Leeds.

5 days ago | wakefieldexpress.co.uk | Leanne Clarke

A Wakefield man found guilty of non-recent sexual offences against a child has been jailed. Peter Woolner, 74, of Fairway in Normanton, targeted the girl when she was between the ages of eight and 14 from 2001-2007. She came forward to report what happened to police in 2021 and Woolner was arrested and questioned. Following a complex and lengthy investigation, he was charged with multiple offences and stood trial at Leeds Crown Court in April 2025.