New lease of life for historic club

In an ambitious joint partnership between Harrogate Railway FC and Vida Healthcare, work has begun on building a 66-bed care home for people with dementia on the site of the team’s clubhouse in Starbeck.

The sale of the land has helped pay for a new clubhouse, a running track, four five-a-side football pitches and a junior football pitch for the beleaguered 70-year-old club.

James Rycroft, managing director of Vida Healthcare, said: “This is a unique approach to a development. Harrogate Railway have an awful lot of land which is currently under utilised because they don’t really have the funds to reach out to the community and maximise its use. They sold us a small amount which has given them funds to develop the clubhouse and offer the public a range of facilities, which will allow Harrogate Railway to generate income and secure their future, while at the same time freeing up a piece of land for development.

“It’s a win-win situation. We get a development which meets demand for dementia care in the area and the club gets a brand new lease of life, which will secure them financially. I don’t see why this can’t be a model that could be rolled out nationally. If clubs have excess land there is not reason why this can’t be mirrored.”

Harrogate Railway chairman Mick Gray said the move had saved the club, claiming the existing facility had been “dead and gone” years ago.

“It’s taken the club 10 years to bring this to fruition. We are trying to get someone to go into partnerships to help us build a new clubhouse and new facilities and this way everyone benefits. I think members didn’t believe it was going to happen but now they have seen the construction site everyone is really looking forward to it,” he said.

The scheme is expected to be completed by next autumn.