Editor's Pick of the Week: Mayors want more and a soggy weekend in store for Leeds Festival

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When Oliver has the audacity to ask for more gruel in Dickens’ Oliver Twist, the master of the workhouse reacts with shock.

The same could be said of Andy Burnham’s plan to give more power to mayors to overturn local council planning decisions, which led to the chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee criticising the move as undemocratic this week.

Cllr Chris Aldred didn’t quite take a ladle from his kitchen to head down to 10 Downing Street to hit the Prime Minister with, but he did pen an opinion column for the Stray Ferret outlining his opposition to the proposal — which you can read here.

This week has also seen the start of Leeds Festival, which is a rite of passage for many young people in the Harrogate area.

To save festivalgoers time preparing, we put together a travel guide — which also warns those who aren’t going to Bramham Park where to avoid this bank holiday weekend.

Northern has also warned that Leeds City Station is expected to see record passengers this weekend and trains, including those on the Harrogate line, may be busy.

This chief reporter once frequented Bramham Park for the festival 15 years ago, when his tent blew away in the wind on a stormy and wet Sunday afternoon.

Suffice to say that it looks like some of those attending this weekend may find themselves in similar weather conditions, if the forecast is anything to go by.

The saga over 210-homes near Spofforth continued this week as Leeds City Council weighed in on what it sees as a scheme which will affect its area more than North Yorkshire.

After raising concern over education funding, the city council is now trying to pin down North Yorkshire Council to a speed camera on Spofforth Hill.

Councillors have already delayed making a decision on the plans — but one suspects that we will see more concerns raised before they meet to discuss them again.

Finally, over the last two years, we have frequently been asked why we charge for our news service and have been met with comments such as “get this news anywhere for free”.

This week, our director, Tamsin O’Brien, has penned an explainer on why we do this and why by subscribing you are investing in a high-quality news service which has minimal adverts and high-quality news.

John Plummer is away.