Harrogate’s 74-year-old walking football star dreams of winning World Cup

Harrogate Town and England walking football player Lawrie Coulthard dreams of winning the World Cup at the ripe age of 74.

He’s been capped by his country three times in the emerging sport, which is a twist on the beautiful game that makes running a foul — do it three times and you get a blue card and placed in a sin bin for two minutes.

Lawrie had a career in the civil service and played for amateur teams in London until he retired aged 45. He thought he’d given up on the football buzz forever until he was persuaded to give walking football a try by a fellow member of Harrogate Male Voice Choir.

He said:

“You get this adrenaline burst playing and you really enjoy it. It’s very competitive. It all came back. It helps your fitness, physical fitness and mental fitness as you get older, and there’s a social side of it.”

Harrogate Town’s 50s and over 60s teams train once a week at Rossett Sports Centre and Lawrie describes his teammates as “a good set of chaps”. He says you need quick feet and a sharp brain to prosper in the game, which is six-a-side and played on smaller pitches.

He made his England debut against the Republic of Ireland last year and hopes to line up when they play Wales next month.

“We sing the national anthem and every time the hairs bristle on your neck. I’m so proud singing that.”

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Manchester will host the first-ever walking football World Cup next year, which Lawrie hopes England can win. He says he could carry on playing until his 80s.

“I’m 74 and in good health. I don’t see why I shouldn’t play until my 80’s unless my legs start giving way. I still enjoy it. You still get that buzz.”

Lawrie paid tribute to his late wife for believing in him.

“My wife died in 2020, she was really ill and persuaded me to carry on with my singing and football. I’m eternally grateful to her for that.”

He added:

“We were staying at friends once and I fell out out of bed and the bed was quite high up. My wife said, ‘what are you doing?’ I told her I was just scoring a goal for England at Wembley in my dream.

“I never thought I’d one day be playing for England!”

Myth buster: Afghan refugees in the Harrogate district

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan earlier this month, four families have been resettled in Harrogate through the government’s Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme.

Our story on Harrogate Borough Council pledging to house refugees fleeing the country provoked a big reaction on social media, both positive and negative, and we wanted to answer some of the questions raised in the responses.

Refugees are people fleeing armed conflicts or persecution and are protected in international law.

An asylum seeker is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim hasn’t been evaluated.

We put several questions to Belinda Goode, chair of Harrogate District of Sanctuary, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the Harrogate district.

Who is coming to Harrogate?

These are Afghan families and their arrival was planned. They knew Nato forces were withdrawing and there was a deal with the Taliban in 2020. They are interpreters who worked for the British Army and their families who were in a vulnerable situation in Afghanistan. They’ve been here a couple of weeks self-isolating in hotels then arrived in Harrogate.

Do refugees jump the social housing queue?

There are a very small number of people coming through the resettlement scheme and they will be given accommodation [in council housing]. North Yorkshire County Council approached Harrogate Borough Council for that.

Housing is sourced and they are supported by the Refugee Council who makes sure they have access to the healthcare that we take for granted. We support them with this.

In the last five years, we’ve not had 20 families and not all of them live in local authority accommodation.

If they don’t come through this planned resettlement scheme they won’t be entitled to social housing. They will be placed in private rental accommodation but it’s usually substandard.

Can refugees work — and do they want to?

Yes, they’ve been given the right to remain here and contribute to society.

Often people come here with great skills but can’t find work. I met a woman who was an engineer in Iran. She couldn’t work and she found it incredibly frustrating and odd that she couldn’t pay her taxes and contribute. She’s doing a course to eventually become a doctor. It’s not that people don’t want to work, they want opportunity.

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Are asylum seekers coming to the UK illegally?

One of the biggest issues is people understanding that asylum seekers are not illegal. It is a legal right to seek asylum. There’s no such thing as a bogus or illegal asylum seeker. 

Asylum seekers are experiencing the same struggles as refugees, but an asylum seeker flees the country on their own and not through an organised resettlement process. They have to apply for asylum once they get here.

Does Harrogate have the space to house refugees and asylum seekers?

We’re not in the top 10 countries that take Syrian refugees. It’s countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Germany, Iraq and Egypt.

The idea that people will always come to England through other countries isn’t factual. Often they will stay in nearby countries.

It’s easy to find these statistics if you look in the right places. We take a very small proportion of refugees. We see the boats coming over and the media use words like “hoards” and “flooded” but in Syria, the statistics are scary. Five million people live without direct access to water. These are often children who are desperate. 

Is Harrogate a ‘welcoming, tolerant and diverse’ place, as suggested by the council leader?

That is aspirational but people’s hearts have been wrung out by the scenes in Afghanistan and at Kabul airport. The majority of people have that humanitarian pull to ask what can we do to help.

There are another group of people who will never change their minds, equally you’ll never change my mind about the situation. 

Our culture in Harrogate is not multi-ethnic and in that sense, it’s more of a challenge. It’s not a big city where naturally there are people from all sorts of races but I’ve seen some wonderful kindness in Harrogate.

There have been some issues [with racism], but that’s not just Harrogate it’s everywhere.

The refugees bring a huge richness of culture with them. What I’ve learned about Syrian food and culture is brilliant. And how welcoming a culture it is. You’re always offered food and these are people that don’t have a lot.

If you visit a refugee family, leave plenty of time, you’re not going to get away with a quick cuppa like you would in the UK. They enjoy life and they want to share it.

Harrogate College: ‘Consider hospitality as a career’

All week, the Stray Ferret has been reporting on the reasons behind the jobs crisis facing hospitality venues in Harrogate — from low pay, to high housing costs and Brexit.

Harrogate BID recently organised a meeting with Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, HBC, Harrogate College, and figures in the town’s hospitality industry to discuss how to encourage more people to look at hospitality as a real career option.

Danny Wild, principal of Harrogate College, told the Stray Ferret that employers struggling to find staff should contact the college who will ask current students if they are interested in a role.

It also says the college offers courses that develop the skills of hospitality staff so they can view their job as a long-term career.

He said:

“It is our responsibility to support the sector at this key time by helping to provide the skilled employees they require.

“The college is supporting the hospitality sector by working with lots of local businesses who are coming to us to help promote or fill their vacancies and look at bespoke training packages.

“And we are actively encouraging employers to speak to the college directly about staffing shortages to see how we can help by, for example, enabling our current students to work part-time or take up apprenticeships.

“For anyone interested in customer service training, meanwhile, we would urge them to contact us so we can signpost them towards the most appropriate solution.

“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all so we always aim to discuss what each employer needs and then offer a solution that works best for them, whether it be a one-day customer service course, an apprenticeship or ways to develop their own management skills.”

Read our series on the jobs crisis: 

 

Civic society cautiously welcomes plan to redevelop former Debenhams building

Harrogate Civic Society has welcomed plans to demolish the former Debenhams building on Parliament Street so it can be replaced with a new six-storey structure, but said the proposals need to improved.

Last week, Wetherby-based property firm Stirling Prescient unveiled plans for a building on the site with retail, leisure and food and drink units on the ground floor and 1,2 and 3-bedroom apartments on the upper floors. There would also be a basement floor for car parking and bicycle storage.

The developer said the current building, which is empty after Debenhams moved out in January, is not suitable for conversion to smaller units due to its layout and age and risks becoming an “eyesore” unless it’s redeveloped.

Stuart Holland, chair of the Harrogate Civic Society, a group that comments on significant planning applications in the town, told the Stray Ferret that members recently met with the developer for a presentation on their plans.

He said due to the historical significance of the building, demolition will only be acceptable to the civic society if what replaces it is “of the highest quality”.

He added that the society welcomes the mix of retail and housing but said six storeys is “too high” so it is encouraging the developer to reduce it by one storey so it does not tower over the area.

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The society says the proposed roof level is “too dominant” and a substantially glazed structure would be preferred – similar to the proposed rooftop restaurant of the Crescent Gardens building.

It is also recommending that the building’s stained glass windows should be salvaged and re-purposed.

Mr Holland added:

“We understand that a full planning application will be made in the coming weeks and we hope the developer will take on board the Civic Society comments that aim to be constructive.”

Stirling Prescient has invited comments from the public about their plans at the following email address: planning@westminsterhouseharrogate.co.uk

Harrogate Town bars fans from stand due to lack of stewards

Harrogate Town’s EnviroVent Stand will be closed to home and away fans for their League 2 game against Exeter tomorrow due to a shortage of stewards.

The club tweeted this morning that they are facing “operational difficulties” around stewarding for the game which kicks off at 3pm tomorrow afternoon.

They added there is a national shortage of qualified stewards and other football clubs and events are having the same difficulties.

Fans who had booked tickets to watch the game in the stand, which is on the Wetherby Road side of the ground, have been offered spaces in the Black Sheep Brewery Stand.

A map of the ground. Credit – Harrogate Town.

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The club added:

“After Saturday we are confident that stewarding issues will be resolved and we can operate as normal. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience and we look forward to seeing you all at the game.”

Recent issues at the EnviroVent Stadium have led to a difficult summer for the club.

They were forced to play a pre-season friendly against Sunderland behind closed doors after North Yorkshire County Council found 17 “unacceptable risks” at the ground, including inadequate stewarding.

It threw the fan’s hopes of attending the opening game of the season against Rochdale into doubt, although the club were able to overcome the issues with the council in time.

Yesterday, the club appointed former Stray FM boss Sarah Barry as their new CEO. She will begin in the role next month.

CCTV to tackle anti-social behaviour on Bilton’s mural bridge

CCTV will be installed on Bilton’s Iron Bridge to tackle anti-social behaviour and vandalism on a recently painted mural.

Conservative HBC and NYCC councillors for Bilton, Matt Scott and Paul Haslam, are behind the initiative which will be trialled for a month beginning in early September.

In March, a colourful mural featuring flowers and foxes was painted by artist Emma Garness to become a beacon of positivity in the area.

The mural has been well received by local residents but has been the subject of vandalism, despite being daubed with anti-graffiti paint.

The CCTV camera was recently used in Ripon to tackle anti-social behaviour. It has a wide-angle lens so can also capture nearby areas such as the garage block on Woodfield Close.

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Cllr Scott said:

“I am grateful to Paul, Cllr Tim Myatt on the other side of the bridge, Julia and Helen in Community Safety and our fantastic local PCSOs for their support with this.

“Paul and I take antisocial behaviour seriously and we will not let a minority of individuals spoil our wonderful community and make people feel unsafe.

“We have seen recently how residents’ own CCTV can help tackle this issue. I hope this camera will provide reassurance and also act as a deterrent.”

89 more positive covid cases in Harrogate district

Another 89 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

The district’s weekly covid rate now stands at 316 infections per 100,000 people. The North Yorkshire rate is 314 and the England average is 330.

Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 10 patients for covid.

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Harrogate hospital has recorded no covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics. However, two people have died at the hospital due to covid since last Wednesday.

It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 181.

A total of 124,017 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 112,000 have had a second dose.

Eighty-seven per cent of adults have had a first jab and 78 per cent have had two jabs.

Hospitality jobs crisis: ‘We need to offer more than just money’

All week, the Stray Ferret has been reporting on the reasons behind the jobs crisis facing hospitality venues in Harrogate — from low pay, to high housing costs and Brexit.

Today we spoke to two business owners about how the sector can move forward and attract staff. Both said that it’s not as easy as just offering more money.

Kim Wilson owns guesthouses The Camberley and The Lodge on Kings Road and is the chair of guesthouse association,  Accommodation Harrogate.

She said it annoys her when people suggest hospitality venues should simply increase wages to attract staff when covid has significantly increased her business costs.

“Hospitality is under pressure to be cheaper and cheaper. My laundry has just gone up by 15%. Everything is going up and customers want to pay less and less.”

Kim Wilson of the Camberley Hotel on Kings Road

Kim Wilson

With a largely female team of housekeepers, Ms Wilson said the biggest thing the government could do to help her is provide childcare to mums.

“Short of providing free chlldcare here, it’s not worth me paying them £9 an hour for them to pay £8 on childcare. That’s the problem.”

She also said changing attitudes mean some young people no longer want to work.

“Students used to want work over summer whilst they were home from university but their attitude now is sad. It’s: ‘we’re so much in debt already, we’ve given up caring, another £2,000 doesn’t really matter when I owe £40,000’.”

Read more from our series: 

Paul Kinsey owns the Viper Rooms and said the nightclub has been relatively unscathed by the crisis, compared to hotels, pubs and restaurants.

He said he pays more money per hour to staff than bars and restaurants to give them an edge.

“We’ve always paid more than pubs and bars.

“We recognised fairly early on it was going to be a competitive market. People have choices.”

Hiring staff is one thing but retaining them can be another. Mr Kinsey said it’s not enough to simply offer more money.

“We’ve done research on a number of occasions that asks staff why they come to work and money has always been second or third.

“Top of list is the way they are treated by their boss. It’s as simple as that. That distinguishes us from some of the larger operators in town where it can be anonymous.”

Paul Kinsey

Harrogate BID recently organised a meeting with Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, HBC, Harrogate College, and figures in the town’s hospitality industry to discuss how to encourage more people to look at hospitality as a real career option.

Mr Kinsey added:

“We’ve got one member of staff who trained as a paramedic but he wants to work in hospitality because he enjoys it. It’s being clear to people that there’s a career to be had. You don’t have to have a qualification, you have to work hard and be honest.

“They can also rise to a position of management a lot younger than in a retail job. If you’re good enough you’re old enough.”

89-year-old man dies after three-vehicle Harrogate district crash

An 89-year-old man has died following a three-vehicle collision on the A59 near Moor Monkton yesterday.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage of the crash, which took place at about 5.10pm and led to lengthy tailbacks.

The 89-year-old man, who has not been named, was driving a red Audi A3 towards York. The man, who was from York, was taken to hospital and died.

A black Audi Q5 and a silver Mini, which were travelling in the opposite direction towards Harrogate, were also involved in the incident.

The driver of the Mini sustained minor injuries and the driver of the Audi Q5 was uninjured.

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North Yorkshire Police is appealing to anyone travelling along the A59 in both directions who has not already spoken to the police to contact them if they saw any of the vehicles prior to the collision or if they witnessed the incident.

Anyone with information, or dashcam footage, can contact Traffic Sergeant Mark Patterson via email at mark.patterson@northyorkshire.police.uk, or call 101, select option 2 and ask for Mark Patterson or Matthew Harvey.

Villagers in Burnt Yates put up scarecrows to tackle speeding

Families in Burnt Yates have built scarecrows, one of which depicts the grim reaper, to remind motorists driving through the village not to speed.

The idea came from Loraine and Sid Hines, who have lived in Burnt Yates for 30 years and worry that speeding cars and ‘boy racers’ will cause serious injury or death.

They have set up a Burnt Yates Speed Committee to tackle the problem.

The speed limit through Burnt Yates is 30mph, with a 20mph section near the school. However, the section of the B6165 leaving the village has a 50mph limit and Ms Hines said more vehicles were exceeding this in recent years.

The committee offered prizes of £30, £20 and £10 for the best scarecrow and every family who entered got a tub of sweets.

However, Ms Hines said two of the scarecrows have been vandalised and one has been stolen since they went up.

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Ms Hines has called on North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, to reduce the speed limit of the B6165 to 30mph.

She said:

“We want something done about the sheer volume of speed and blatant disregard for the rules”.

The council told the Stray Ferret it did not support a reduction in the speed limit.

Nigel Smith, head of highway operations, said:

“Given the accident history of this section of the B6165 and the guidance on which the police’s decisions have to be based, we cannot, at this time, support the request for a reduced speed limit.”