This story is sponsored by Lovett Care.

A stunning new purpose-built care home is set to open on Wetherby Road in Harrogate this month. Fairfax Manor will provide high-quality residential, dementia and respite care, 24 hours a day.

The new home, from award-winning care provider Lovett Care, also has an enviable range of truly exceptional facilities, including a café, bistro, library, orangery, beauty salon, private dining room and bar – placing it in the top rank of care homes in the region. The home has 90 fully-furnished en suite rooms with outdoor space provided by balconies, patio areas and landscaped gardens for all to enjoy. 

One of the lounges at Fairfax Manor.

The home have recruited an activities team who will promote a healthy lifestyle and positive wellbeing all year round. Their holistic approach to care and support will ensure the team provides a full and varied activities programme that meets the needs of everyone who lives in the home. The dedicated team will arrange daily supported sessions and activities to ensure everyone benefits from life at Fairfax Manor.

Lovett Care also employs two people to lead activities seven days a week, including morning exercises, an art club, trips out in the minibus, and a lot more – all tailored to the residents’ needs.

General Manager Gillian Allatt said: 

“We know the key to a successful home is down to the individuals who work there.

“We have recruited an exceptional team who have been selected for their individual qualities but most importantly their dedication to wanting to make a difference. I truly have a team who cares.

“I am looking forward to welcoming our new residents to Fairfax Manor as that is when it truly becomes a home. The unrivalled facilities have all been thoughtfully designed and will offer an exceptionally high standard of living yet with a homely feel. My team will be on hand 24 hours a day to provide the very best care and support, enabling our residents to enjoy their next chapter.”

The landscaped gardens will have plenty of beautiful seating areas.

Lovett Care already operates nine homes across the North West and north Wales, supporting more than 500 residents. Fairfax Manor will be its first east of the Pennines. 

The company employs more than 700 people, and a further 100 or more will be employed in the new Harrogate care home, which is located within a mile of the town centre. The home will be a welcome addition to the local area with the growing demand for elderly care and support. 

You can find more details about Lovett Care on the company website, lovettcare.co.uk. 

To register your interest in one of the fabulous rooms at Fairfax Manor, contact us here.

Councillors today voted to recommend awarding a civic honour to Harrogate-born England footballer Rachel Daly.

Rachel’s first club — Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club — launched a petition this year in conjunction with the Stray Ferret calling on North Yorkshire Council to officially recognise their former player.

The council has done nothing to mark Rachel’s achievements, which include winning Euro 2022, playing in the World Cup final and winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award this year.

The petition received more than the required 500 signatures to make it eligible for debate at the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, which met today.

The petition was introduced by John Plummer, the editor of the Stray Ferret, who said:

“It’s difficult to think of anyone in North Yorkshire who has achieved more in recent years or done more to put Harrogate on the map.

“It is time for the council to wake up and realise Rachel Daly is a local superstar who should be celebrated — and honour our home-grown Lioness.”

Mr Plummer said it was “inconceivable that the council would not be falling over backwards to honour, say, Harry Kane if he was from Harrogate”, and it would “raise uncomfortable questions about the council, whose ruling executive is 80% male” if it denied recognition for Rachel, particularly as councillors had set a precedent by renaming Ripon leisure centre after Olympic diving champion Jack Laugher, who grew up in the city.

Rachel Daly on the pitch named after her at Killinghall Moor Community Park.

The petition suggested renaming Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre but Mr Plummer said the council was welcome to come up with an alternative “but it has to be meaningful and on a scale befitting her accomplishments”.

Cllr Michael Schofield, an Independent who represents Harlow and St George’s, said he had spoken to Rachel, who used to visit the Shepherd’s Dog pub he runs, and she had indicated that although she appreciated the support she didn’t feel naming the leisure centre after her was appropriate.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he felt others, including Harrogate’s Paralympic powerlifter Charlotte McGuinness, had an equal right to be recognised.

The council currently has nothing in place for bestowing civic honours.

The 13-person Liberal Democrat-controlled committee voted in favour of recommending the council “develops a civic honours-type scheme for the council and that Rachel Daly’s achievements are recognised through the new scheme”.

Cllr Peter Lacey, a Liberal Democrat who represents Coppice Valley and Duchy, said he hoped the matter could be dealt with swiftly.

Area constituency committees are advisory bodies to the council. It is now up to the council’s Conservative-controlled executive to decide whether to act on its recommendations.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Rachel Daly ranked 10th best player in world
• Football pitch in Killinghall named after local Lioness Rachel Daly