Football ground may be used for £5m care home

The ambitious joint partnership between Harrogate Railway FC and Vida Healthcare would pay for a 66-bed care home for people with dementia on the site of its club house, creating 60 jobs.

The money raised by the club from selling the land would help pay for a running track, four five-a-side football pitches, a junior football pitch and a new club house.

Chairman Mick Gray said the deal has rescued the club from dire financial straits.

He said: "It is a brilliant day for everybody at the club – we could have folded without this. We have struggled financially for a number of years and it has been heart-breaking for us and the fans to see the ground fall into greater disrepair. This is a much-loved club and has a great history, it is so important to be able to keep that legacy alive and plan for the future. The supporters are delighted."

Harrogate Railway FC was founded in 1935, by workers at the Starbeck LNER train depot and gained nationwide fame in 2002 after becoming the lowest ranked club ever to reach the second round of the FA Cup.

Vida Healthcare managing director James Rycroft said: "It is great news for the club and for the regeneration of the entire area. "There is a real need for this and it will be a state-of-the-art facility."

The proposals go before Harrogate Borough Council's planning committee on December 21.