Harrogate Town has appointed its first ever club chaplain to provide pastoral and spiritual help to players and their families.

Rob Brett, who is a Christian but not ordained, said he would offer a friendly face and a listening ear to everyone at the club, regardless of faith.

Most professional football clubs have chaplains but this voluntary role is a first for Town, which was promoted to the English Football League for the first time this year.

Mr Brett, who has lived in Harrogate for more than 20 years and is regulated by Sports Chaplaincy UK, said:

“I will be available to listen, without judging, to whatever it is that people want to share, including family and relationship difficulties, mental health issues and financial problems.

“What I’m told will be in strictest confidence. I won’t necessarily come up with solutions, but rather help people to work out for themselves how to ease or resolve their anxiety.”

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Town manager Simon Weaver welcomed the appointment. He said:

“We are an extended family at Harrogate Town and we look out for each other.”

“Having Rob around gives us someone else to share our personal problems, which we may not want to do with team mates, bosses or colleagues or even our nearest and dearest.”

The club’s newly appointed support liaison officer Phill Holdsworth (left) and an associate director of the club, Mike Partridge.

The club also announced today it had appointed Phill Holdsworth as supporters’ liaison officer.

Mr Holdsworth is a club volunteer and season ticket holder.

Managing director Garry Plant said:

“Phil is very well qualified to deal with off-field suggestions or issues supporters may have.”

There was a slight fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district in September.

A total of 3,875 people claimed out-of-work benefits during the month, down slightly from 3,970 in August. Of those, 2,210 were men and 1,665 were women.

The figures, which were published today by the Office for National Statistics, revealed 4.1% of the district’s population claimed out-of-work benefits — down from 4.2% in the previous month.

Harrogate is below the UK-wide figure of 6.5% for people claiming the benefits, which include Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.

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The number of benefit claims in the district has remained stable since May, with the government’s furlough scheme used to protect more than 15,000 jobs in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The scheme ends this month and will be replaced by the Job Support Scheme, which is designed to protect viable jobs.

Under the new scheme, an employee who works a minimum of 33% of their normal hours a week will be guaranteed 77% of their weekly wage.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said financial support on offer to employees must “adapt and evolve”.

A coffee shop in Hampsthwaite will reopen this weekend after being forced to close due to covid.

Sophie’s Coffee Shop and Bistro closed on Sunday after a relative of a member of staff tested positive for the virus.

But the shop announced on its Facebook page yesterday that all staff concerned had tested negative.

It added that although the results were negative, it had decided to hire a professional deep cleaning team to deep clean the entire inside and outside of the building.

The clean will also include a new marquee, which has been purchased to allow more space for customers. The cafe had to halve its capacity to follow social distancing rules and said the marquee would allow it to seat more customers safely.

Sophie Jacob, owner of the shop, said:

“We’re excited to reopen, we have taken all the necessary precautions. On Wednesday a cleaning company will come and spray the marquee and inside to disinfect the premises. We chose to do this.

“This week we’re setting up the new marquee. We had people waiting in their cars sometimes to come in so we wanted to set this up to have more space.”

The team is hopeful that its measures will ensure customers feel confident to return this weekend.

Nearly 80% of Harrogate residents want the town centre to keep alfresco dining on a permanent basis.

The Stray Ferret worked with Your Poll by Judge Service to survey nearly 1,500 people in Harrogate.

All surveys with more than 1,000 respondents are statistically valid. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out.

Should alfresco dining become permanent in Harrogate?

More than 1,100 of respondents (77%) said they want the relaxed rules around alfresco dining to be made permanent.

The other 300 votes were split between “not sure” at 13% and “no” at 9% – giving “yes” the clear majority.

“The pleasure of visiting the town comes from its small size, ease of access and facility for short trips. More alfresco dining gives the town a good atmosphere.” – anon.

“Alfresco dining is the way forward more outdoor spaces should be used. Take a look at the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells a great example.” – anon.

North Yorkshire County Council has already said it would be “happy to review any requests for longer term use of the public highway” for alfresco dining.

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David Bowe, the corporate director for business and environmental services at the county council, previously said the authority has received “really positive feedback”.

Should alfresco dining become permanent?

“Create a park & ride facility to allow residents to park outside homes and encourage visitors to use buses into town and encourage alfresco dining and drinking.” – anon.

“I believe Harrogate should embrace the alfresco cafes and bars, also thinking about disabled access and access for people with prams.” – anon.

There seems to be a real strength of feeling from Harrogate residents about alfresco dining. That was clearly reflected when the Blues Bar and The Empress faced the threat of losing all their tables and chairs.

The Blues Bar eventually needed to remove their tables and chairs but not before it got 3000 people to back their fight in an online petition.

We will publish the full results of our survey on Wednesday. 

Harrogate Town managing director Garry Plant has said proposals that could see the club potentially receive millions of pounds in funding from the Premier League should be “seriously considered”.

Details of Project Big Picture, which would radically overhaul the way finances are distributed down the football pyramid, were leaked to the media over the weekend.

Under the proposals, put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United, the top nine clubs in the Premier League would get more control in return for giving an immediate £350m rescue fund to the English Football League, plus 25% of revenue from future deals.

This would give EFL clubs, who have struggled financially since the lockdown, a much-needed cash windfall. Currently, each EFL club receives £430,000 a season from the Premier League as a “solidarity payment”.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret yesterday, Mr Plant said:

“Any assistance that the clubs can get has to be seriously considered otherwise there might not be some clubs in the EFL for much longer.

“The club is being guided by and trusts the EFL to arrive at the very best solution for the football family.”

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The proposals would also see the League Cup scrapped, which Mr Plant suggested would be a small price to pay if it guaranteed the survival of EFL clubs.

Mr Plant warned if communities lost their football clubs it would have a lasting impact that would run deeper than purely sport.

He added:

“The key important thing is the survival of football.

“Bury and Macclesfield have already closed and it would have a massive impact on local communities.”

The final stage of a management buyout of a Harrogate medical supplies company has been completed.

Beaucare Medical, which employs 68 staff, supplies medical, nursing and hygiene equipment, including PPE, to the care sector.

Managing director Heather Mawrey and commercial finance director Joe Storr, have now bought the remaining shares in the business from original owner Jonathan Brown.

The pair bought into the business in 2017 when Mr Brown sold his controlling stake. They have now bought his remaining 45% of shares.

The company, which began life in 1992 in Mr Brown’s garage, now has an annual turnover of almost £12 million.

Ms Mawrey, who has worked for the company for 15 years, said:

“We’ve enjoyed a busy period in the three years since Joe and I initially bought into the business.

“We’re extremely grateful to Jonathan for his continued input, which has created a seamless handover, and we’re delighted to complete the final stage of this management buyout.”

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The company, which was advised on the buyout by Harrogate law firm LCF Law, has experienced a surge in demand for PPE and other medical supplies during the pandemic.

The buyout was funded by the Santander Santander Corporate & Commercial, which funded the initial £3 million buyout in 2017.

Harrogate’s full-time coronavirus testing site is due to open next week.

The Department of Health and Social Care site will be located in the Dragon Road car park, which has been home to the mobile testing centre over the past few months.

The mobile testing centre has generally been open for four hours a day, two days a week.

The new full-time centre is due to begin operating on Wednesday next week. After an initial pilot period, it will be open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.

People will be able to turn up on foot, unlike at the mobile testing centres. However, tests must still be booked in advance,

While the permanent site is being built, the mobile testing facility will move to Harrogate Hydro on Friday this week and then Harrogate High School on Sunday.

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North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership organisation that includes councils, emergency services and health bodies that tackle the pandemic, successfully made the case for permanent centres in Harrogate and Scarborough to the DHSC.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, the director of public health in North Yorkshire, said:

“We have worked hard to retain and increase the level of testing across the county, so we are pleased that our efforts have resulted in the creation of these two sites, which will be up and running shortly.

“We will continue to lobby for further expansion of testing facilities across the county.”

The Stray Ferret asked the DHSC the cost of building the permanent testing centre in Harrogate but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The Harrogate district recorded a further 24 positive coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,436.

Coronavirus has devastated many lives this year but for one Harrogate street, the pandemic has at least brought neighbours closer together.

Since lockdown in March, residents of St Helen’s Road have been using a WhatsApp group to help each other out.

People have used the group to offer help with shopping, look out for neighbours who are shielding or share unwanted items. 

Six months on the group, set up by Holly Jones, continues to foster community spirit during these dark times in the street, which is near St Aidan’s Church of England High School. 

Colette Lain, who lives on St Helen’s Road, said:

“The street has gone from a fairly anonymous place before lockdown to a really lively and supportive neighbourhood.

“It gave you the security that there were people that cared, and that was fantastic.”

Ms Lain decided to make the most of the community spirit by organising a street charity raffle to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Ms Lain volunteers for the charity but was unable to do so during the pandemic. 

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Friends and neighbours donated prizes, and residents bought tickets by posting money and their addresses through Ms Lain’s front door. 

Colette Lain, picking the winner of the raffle.

She raised £250 for the air ambulance, and has plans to generate more through a bumper Christmas raffle in December. 

Jane Kennerly and Holly Jones have also set up a book swap in a telephone box on the street in another move to bring neighbours together.

The Stray Ferret wonders how many other streets in the Harrogate district have come together in this way during the pandemic.

Harrogate Theatre has today been awarded £249,820 from a government rescue fund for the arts.

Other local venues have also been successful, with £238,590 awarded to Deer Shed Festival near Topcliffe, £117,500 to Ripon Museum Trust and £54,339 to Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.

Harrogate Theatre, which will remain closed until next year, said the award would cover its losses from November 2020 to April 2021

This money is in addition to an Arts Council England grant of £395,000 in July and £100,000 raised from an emergency appeal.

It means the theatre has now received nearly £750,000 to help it survive the coronavirus-enforced closure.

David Bown, chief executive of the theatre, said:

“The funding provides an urgent lifeline to Harrogate Theatre and many other arts organisations across the country. We are thankful for this vital intervention, which demonstrates our value to our local area and the wider cultural sector.”

Mr Bown hopes that the money will help the theatre to “return stronger than ever” in 2021.

Read more:

• Harrogate theatre will remain closed until 2021
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The government handed out £257 million to nearly 1,400 cultural and creative organisations in today’s first round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is run by Arts Council England.

Deborah Larwood, the theatre chair,  said:

“This support will play a crucial role in enabling us to stabilise the theatre following the devastating impact of the covid pandemic. In these most challenging times we have had to make some very difficult decisions, but this funding gives us the opportunity to focus on planning for the future.”

Harrogate’s NHS Nightingale has been asked to “mobilise over the next few weeks” to be ready to accept patients.

In a government coronavirus news conference today, NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the Nightingale hospitals in Harrogate, Manchester and Sunderland were preparing for the next phase.

Prof Powis said: “We are asking them to mobilise to be ready to accept patients if necessary.

“We are asking those in the high risk areas to go into a high state of alert and readiness. We will do that with other Nightingales if necessary.”

Prof Powis also said that there would be regular testing for NHS staff in high-risk areas “even when they don’t have symptoms”.

It comes after rising coronavirus infections levels and ahead of the government’s new three tier lockdown system to be announced later today.

This is a breaking news story. We will update this page when we get more information.