Wednesday 22 February 2023

EAST RIDINGcouncillors will be asked to approve the introduction of payments for using publically-available charging points for electric vehicles. The recommendation will go before members of East Riding Council’s Cabinet next Tuesday and, if approved, the cost of using the chargers will be passed on to motorists from April.

A report to councillors stated that when the first chargers were installed it was decided not to charge a fee as an incentive for people to switch to electric vehicle use. The authority now has 75 chargers within public car parks and council properties and say the cost to the council of the energy being used cannot be sustained.

A further 100 on-street chargers are expected to be installed within the council’s area this year and it’s envisaged the cost of using them will be approximately £10-20, depending on the size of the vehicle’s battery and the degree of charge required.

HUMBERSIDE Police is to hold its own Careers Fair next Tuesday for those contemplating a job as a member of police staff or as a police officer. It will be held at the new Melton Police Station from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, with guest speakers and exhibitions running throughout. “You will have the chance to speak with our Recruitment Team as well as 999 Call Handlers, Dispatchers, Dog Handlers, Detectives, Safer Roads,  Forensics, Detention Officers and the Wellbeing Team among others,” a spokesperson told us.

THE WINNER of the People’s Choice award at the recent Beverley Art Gallery Open Exhibition has been announced as Catherine Inglis, who lives in Skirpenbeck, just outside York. She won the coveted award, for her piece, “Brown Hare”. The vote attracted a record number of entries from visitors to the exhibition – over 500 – and Catherine garnered the highest proportion of votes cast.

Catherine’s winning painting

She told us: “I came to art late in life, professionally speaking. I had planned to work part-time but my framer arranged an exhibition for my work and it just snowballed from there, so I never needed the supporting part time work. We ran out of space in the house! So I have a studio at home now, which is really nice. It’s also used as somewhere to teach and run workshops. I hadn’t planned to teach, but I love it.

“I’ve been working as an artist since 2000, but I’ve been painting in an amateur capacity a lot longer than that.

“I am absolutely passionate about pastel. I’m a member of the Society of Woman Artists in London as well as a Member of East Riding Artists. I am the President of Driffield Art Club, which is a flourishing club with an enthusiastic committee and membership.

“I would describe myself as quite a traditional sort of artist, I’m certainly not highly contemporary. I do mostly commission work; I really like portraits of people, and I do a lot of animal portraits.

“Hares are the only wildlife I paint now; they’re fabulous. If you stand really stock still early in the morning with the wind behind you, they can get very close.

Catherine Inglis (left) with Hannah Willetts

“I’d encourage any artist to submit their work to Open Art. I’ve had a lot of fun putting my art out there in exhibitions. I’ve always entered Beverley’s Open Art.

“It’s a really friendly gallery, even from the moment you hand in your work for judging, it’s a really nice experience.”

Beverley Art Gallery curator Hannah Willetts added : “Congratulations to Catherine, the well deserving winner of the award! Thank you to everybody who came to the Open Art exhibition, and who took the time to vote. The exhibition was a huge success!”

The Open Art exhibition featured over 100 works selected by local artists and tutors Neil Helyard and Mimi Claughton, of which 35 were bought by visitors. In total, 197 works were submitted for the exhibition.