Harrogate district covid rate begins to rise again

The recent rapid decline of the Harrogate district’s covid rate of infection appears to have halted, with the rate beginning to nudge up again.

A total of 226 cases were confirmed in today’s government figures, taking the seven-day infection rate to 1,073 per 100,000 people.

This is slightly up on yesterday’s figure of 1,059 and remains above both the county and England averages of 974 and 992 respectively.

Central Harrogate is worst affected, with 127 infections in the last seven days. Harrogate East has had 123 cases while Harrogate West and Pannal has had 120,

It was also revealed today that a total of 106.735 booster or third jabs have been administered in the district.

From Thursday, venues and events will no longer be required by law to use the NHS covid pass and face coverings will no longer be required by law in any setting.

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Stray Views: Doubts remain about Harrogate Station Gateway

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Do the councillors voting on the Station Gateway know what’s best for Harrogate?

As we are all aware there has been quite a bit of publicity locally on the Harrogate Station Gateway project — mostly negative but some positive.

I object to the proposals as they stand and have written individually to each councillor sitting on the executive committee of North Yorkshire County Council on this basis.
The Station Gateway will not improve the visual appeal or the environment of the town centre. It is purely a highway engineer’s solution to the problem and one which is focussed on cycling in an attempt to reduce car usage. It will be a disaster for the town. What a legacy to leave us!

It will be interesting to see how many of them out of courtesy respond prior to the meeting.

So far I have had a response from Cllr Carl Les, chair of the committee and Cllr Don Mackenzie, although at this stage both are non-committal.

Looking at the mailing list for the executive, it is interesting to note that out of the 10 members sitting only two are residents of Harrogate. The remainder are scattered to all corners of North Yorkshire but will be making a critical decision on the future of Harrogate. It makes you question how many of those councillors know Harrogate and how well and how many of them have actually visited the town.

I’m not against cycling even though the cycling lobby appear to get the most publicity, but just the way it has been pushed in Harrogate because NYCC have applied for available funding without any prior thought on how they are going to implement schemes. As I have said many times over the last few years, “putting the cart before the horse”. I would respect them much more if they admitted they have got it wrong.

Much more could be achieved in Harrogate and make it a great town once again otherwise we will be left with a mess for the next fifty years.

Barry Adams, Harrogate

Station Gateway will turn shoppers away

Which idiot came up with the Station Gateway proposal – are they trying to kill all the shops in Harrogate?

Many years ago when they first brought in pay parking (20p per hour ), people were that angry everyone went to Clifton Moor, which had easy parking and was free. It took years to get them back.

Maybe the proposers live in Wetherby or Skipton Road and are jealous of the relatively free-flowing of traffic through town.

I can just see my 80-year-old mother-in-law going shopping with all those bags on her bike.

I don’t live in Harrogate anymore but we’re looking to return and relocate our shop there (not if this happens). Probably Northallerton for us now then.

John Dalton, Hornsea

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Has Wallace Sampson visited the rest of North Yorkshire?

Further to your article on the economic power of the Harrogate area, one does wonder if Wallace Sampson, the chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, has ever visited the North Yorkshire Council area and appreciated the economic contribution of Scarborough, Skipton or Northallerton.

He seems to be besotted by Harrogate town and its dying spa importance, and fail to realise how the spa town in the district was really supported by Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Masham and Pateley Bridge.

David Rhodes, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

 

Local woman sets up charity for Malawi schoolchildren

Jasmine Lehnis-Leitao worked in Malawi for 15 years before moving to Harrogate. Now she has set up the not-for-profit organisation Care In Action for Malawi to fund young people’s secondary and further education.

Ms Lehnis-Leitao went to Malawi in 2001 and has since worked on various projects there, including with local charity Open Arms Malawi, which cares for orphaned babies, and is closely linked with Harrogate communities.

Her new organisation will raise money through sponsorships and other fundraising to fund young peoples’ education, paying school fees and supplying them with books, supplies, and necessary technology. She is currently applying for charitable status.

Promise’s Story

Ms Lehnis-Leitao hopes her organisation will make a direct impact. She tells the story of Promise, a girl she worked with:

“Promise did well at primary school, but for secondary school she couldn’t afford the fees. Her parents had died, she was living with her aunt who sold tomatoes for a living. Her cousins and her aunt would all tell her ‘Why are you interested in books? You should be finding a man who can support you.’”

Care in Action for Malawi’s partner charity in Germany was able to step in to fund Promise’s education and Promise is now at a college for nursing. Ms Lehnis-Leitao adds:

“Once Promise becomes a nurse, that’s a career for life, it’s no longer about finding a man to rely on its about relying on yourself. It’s about having your career, having skills that you can give to your community.”

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Local involvement

Ms Lehnis-Leitao aims to reach more people with her new organisation by working in collaboration with partners. She remarks that cooperation is key to “build strong partnerships locally and put more kids more through school”.

Ms Lehnis-Leitao hopes the Harrogate district will get involved with fundraising and she emphasises how a little can go a long way, saying:

“Get involved with events, which can be as simple as a pub quiz. Come along and support. We want to get to know people’s interests and what they can contribute.

“For £300 a year you can put someone through secondary school. For £500 a year you can put them through teacher training college which is only two years.”

To get involved or offer sponsorship, you can get in contact at info@care-in-action.org.

For more information, click here.

Opinion: The big lie

The news that we are all facing extraordinary rises in energy prices, together with the forthcoming reorganisation of local government are but two aspects of the great lie and con trick played on us by decades of politicians and career officers, that bigger is always better.

It is this grotesque fallacy that has led to local people losing control of the services that they originally created, financed and administered, in exchange for services controlled by strangers for whom the screwing of as much profit as possible from their reluctant customers, with as low a service as possible, seems their only purpose.

Let me provide some examples relating to Harrogate, with the reorganisation of local government being a particularly topical issue.

Local government

The liars say that Harrogate has too small a population to be a unitary authority. Of course they say this, as it is in their interests to promote the concept of big authorities, as salaries and payments are invariably higher when applied to responsibility for a larger population as against a smaller one. They will say that the merging of – say – six local authorities will mean one chief executive instead of six, one borough planner instead of six, one treasurer, instead of six, etc. etc. Whereas in truth, the savings come at the dire cost of local people becoming further removed from control over the services for which they are paying.

Harrogate too small to be a unitary authority. Rubbish! Today, the Harrogate district’s population is around 161,000, that of the town being little over 75,000. Yet when Harrogate town had a population of only 26,583, about two thirds smaller than the Harrogate town of today, it was able from the yield of its local rates, to build the Royal Baths, the Royal Hall, a gigantic series of reservoirs and an unequalled water distribution network, to run its own electricity works, to build and run its own schools and pay the staff salaries, to administer its own fire services, run its own public health facilities and many other things. All this was possible because Harrogate had the authority to levy its own council rates (and to keep the greater part of the income) and for Harrogate’s Council to spend the proceeds in ways permitted by Acts of Parliament.

Kursaal,at height of Edwardian season. Walker-Neesam archive

The Royal Hall, previously known as the Kursaal, at height of Edwardian season. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

Yet today, thanks to the gradual erosion of local democracy, the present North Yorkshire County Council takes the vast majority of every pound paid in council tax by Harrogate residents, with much less going to Harrogate Borough Council. Is it any wonder that our democratically elected Harrogate borough councillors are hamstrung at every turn when they try to provide the services demanded by local residents? The secret of true local democracy has little to do with population sizes, and everything to do with financial control, which must include the power to set local taxation and the power to spend such taxation within the town that supplied it – such powers being determined by Parliamentary authority.

Naturally North Yorkshire’s councillors and career officers will seek to expand their spheres of influence, and to retain and enhance their existing stranglehold on Harrogate – it is absolutely in their interests to do so. But history shows that their ever increasing power to control our lives has been at the cost of local representation and accountability. The latest calamitous “reforms” of local government will further reduce the rights and powers of local people to control their own lives, with Harrogate becoming further prey to the financial leech which is bleeding the town to finance road repairs in Tadcaster, libraries in Skipton, schools in Easingwold, and social services in Selby.

Nevertheless, it remains my hope that one day – maybe in 50 or 100 years time – Harrogate will regain powers to control its own finances, and re-establish democratic control of its affairs by its citizenry.

Gas

When some Harrogate people decided the town should have access to a supply of gas, they obtained an enabling Act of Parliament in 1846, after which a gas works was built at Rattle Crag financed by local private shareholders.

After overcoming initial difficulties with the Improvement Commissioners, the gas company supplied the lighting of the public streets as well as gas for residential and commercial use. The profits produced went back into improving the gas plant and paying the salaries of those employed in the work, many of whom lived at New Park.

After several extensions of its area of supply, Harrogate’s gas company was nationalised by the Gas Act of 1948, which merged some 1,062 privately owned and municipal gas companies into 12 area gas boards.

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The York, Harrogate and District group of gas companies had already merged on 1 January 1944, comprising Harrogate, York, Malton and Easingwold, which were joined by the Yeadon, Guisley, and Otley companies on 1 October 1946. This arrangement, however, barely survived for two years, until the 1948 Gas Act changed everything.

With every enlargement, control of the manufacture, distribution and pricing of gas passed further away from the people who had created the company, and for whom its products were intended, to huge, impersonal and uncaring conglomerates.

This process has continued to this day, resulting in the crazy situation that Harrogate’s gas customers now have absolutely no control over the gas they use nor the rate at which it is priced. What would those Victorian founders have said on hearing that we are to some extent reliant on Russia for the continuance of our gas supplies?

Electricity

Electricty works 1897 opening ceremony Walker-Neesam archive

Electricity works opening ceremony in 1897. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

In order to provide the people of Harrogate with an alternative to gas, Harrogate Corporation’s elected representatives built a Municipal Electricity Undertaking near to the site of the present Hydro, which opened in 1897.

The people’s democratically elected councillors regulated the supply and pricing of electricity with regard to the local situation, so that when in 1933, at the height of the terrible depression, many were experiencing economic hardship, the council reduced the unit cost of electricity from one penny to three-farthings.

When war came in 1939, Harrogate’s Electricity Undertaking was supplying 20,670 consumers, and selling 26,815,046 units of power, with a gross income of £178,857.

By the end of the year to March 1945, those figures had increased to 21,977 consumers, selling 39,254,676 units of power, with a gross income of £242,412 – an incredible achievement given the conditions of war time operation.

But in 1948, and by order of the government’s Electricity Act of 1947, Harrogate’s Electricity Undertaking was transferred to the enormous new British Electricity Board and thus removed from the town a valuable asset which had hitherto been controlled by local people.

Water

Turning on the reservoir water. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

Just the same thing as described above applies to water. When a group of local people raised money to establish the Harrogate Water Company, following a Parliamentary Act of 1846, the townspeople supported the project, and the little company grew as the town grew.

In 1897, an Act of Parliament empowered Harrogate Corporation to buy out the private water company, which was then run purely for the benefit of the townspeople. Under the inspirational leadership of Alderman Charles Fortune, the corporation undertook a massive programme of reservoir and distribution construction, which ensured Harrogate had an adequate supply of water for the next 50 years.

Harrogate’s municipal water undertaking was one of the jewels in Harrogate’s crown until the 1945 Water Act, which paved the way for the creation of the huge Claro Water Board in 1958/9, which covered an area of 420 square miles, between one fifth and one sixth of the area of the West Riding of Yorkshire, with a population of 119,000. On such a scale, it was inevitable that the concern would no longer be run purely in the interests of the people of Harrogate, nor would its profits be returned to the local economy.

Malcolm Neesam, Harrogate-based historian

Harrogate headteacher ‘concerned’ by Cold Bath Road pollution data

Western Primary School installed a pollution sensor in June last year, amid concerns about heavy traffic on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road.

Headteacher Tim Broad was worried about the sheer volume of traffic plus the fact he could tase diesel in his mouth when larger vehicles passed.

Six months on, The Stray Ferret has reviewed the data, which suggests levels of pollutants meet national objectives but exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organisation.

The sensor, which was installed within the school grounds, revealed concentrations of PM2.5, PM10 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) all fell within the national objectives’ limits for short and long-term exposure.

However, a local pollution campaigner expressed concern that PM2.5 and NO2 levels exceeded WHO guidelines both short- and long-term.

PM2.5 particles are man-made particles suspended in the air, produced by woodburning stoves and transport, as well as industrial processes. When breathed in, these particles can get into the blood and lodge themselves in organs.

NO2 is a gas produced by combustion of fossil fuels. Eighty percent of roadside NO2 pollution is caused by road vehicles. Exposure to the gas can cause inflammation to the airways and exacerbate pre-existing heart and lung conditions.

‘No safe threshold for air pollution’

We showed our findings to Western headteacher Tim Broad, who said he was “concerned” by the exceedance of WHO guidelines, Mr Broad added:

“I intend to follow up with an investigation in school, with a view to passing on the findings to the appropriate people at Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.”

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Local campaigner Brian McHugh claimed the national objectives were too weak, and children were at risk. He added:

“The concern with using numbers and limits sometimes can be that there is a belief formed that anything up to that level is ‘safe’. There is no safe threshold for air pollution.

“The harm of air pollution on humans is well documented. The increased harm to children, with developing lungs, cannot be overstated.”

Better monitoring needed

Western Primary School is believed to be the only school in the district with an air pollution sensor, and live measurements from the sensor are available to the public online here.

Mr McHugh called for better monitoring of pollution in and around schools. He said:

“It is incredibly useful that we are even able to have this data and analyse it. Huge thanks must go to Western Primary for having the foresight to install an air quality sensor and it is hoped that other schools in the Harrogate district follow their example, so we have accurate information on which to base policies and initiatives.”

In its 2021 Air Quality Annual Status Report, Harrogate Borough Council used 63 monitors throughout the district to measure NO2 levels but had no monitors for PM2.5 particles.

The council itself stated PM2.5 can have a significant impact on health, including “premature mortality, allergic reactions, and cardiovascular diseases”, but it relied on council data from Leeds and York to estimate levels of the pollutant in the district.

Harrogate College to host week of networking events for businesses

Harrogate College is to host a week of sector-specific networking events for businesses next month.

The events will be held between Monday 14 and Friday 18 February. They are free and open to anyone who books a place via the college’s Employers’ Network page. 

The sessions will cover energy and construction, health and social care, hospitality and retail, digital, education and training and business and finance. 

They have been set up to facilitate talks between employers working in similar fields.

The college will use feedback from participating businesses to tailor its curriculum — and, if required, start new courses — to ensure it is delivering the skills that are most in demand by local firma.

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Harrogate College’s partnerships and development manager, Holly Hansen-Maughan, urged businesses to sign up.

Holly Hansen-Maughan

Ms Hansen-Maughan said:

“Launching the employers’ network sparked such a positive discussion between all kinds of businesses, and this is a great chance to build on that.

“These sessions will allow people to mingle with others in their own industries, find out more about each other and potentially mutually beneficial opportunities, and explore those kinds of discussions further.

“You do not have to be a current network member to take part – you just have to book a place through our website.

“The network is growing and thriving and we look forward to welcoming new businesses along in February to find out more about it, and the benefits it brings.”

For full details, and links to book a place, visit the Harrogate College website.

                                        

Harrogate student Emily Holder aims for Paralympic gold

A student at Harrogate College is aiming for wheelchair fencing gold on the back of her debut for Great Britain at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation‘s World Cup in Italy.

Emily Holder, 17, is already competing at the top tier in the UK having won a medal at the national championships. She balances her fencing with studies for a BTEC in business at Harrogate College, which she will finish this year.

Emily regularly travels to Milton Keynes for training sessions, so juggling her two workloads has been far from easy. She said:

“This course has been a good choice for me and in terms of the college being flexible to let me continue my fencing and training, it’s been really great.

“The staff have been very helpful and understanding. Although we haven’t been going to too many things, because of covid, when it has come to me having to take time to attend training and fencing competitions, they’ve been really good.”

Emily has cerebral palsy and her mobility varies depending on her chronic pain, spasticity (muscle tightness) and dystonic (involuntary muscle contraction) levels. She uses a crutch or an electric wheelchair but on good days can manage without.

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With little to no funding available, Emily’s family has supported her in buying the necessary equipment to compete, including £4,000 on a specialist wheelchair. Meanwhile, Emily also remains dedicated to her studies, and is looking to study business management or human resources at university next year.

Harrogate College Business student Emily Holder

Harrogate College business student Emily Holder

Tutors have praised her as a “fantastic role model”, while course leader David Gaunt said she was “very conscientious and always prioritises her grades”.

Emily, who lives in North Rigton, began fencing in 2013 after attending a disability sports festival before joining Harrogate Fencing Club. She now trains across the UK, from Milton Keynes to York to Durham.

To support or sponsor Emily, please email emilyholder43@yahoo.com.

For more information about wheelchair fencing click here.

TikTok famous: 4 videos featuring the Harrogate district’s people and places

After a Russian TikToker racked up a million views with a scenic video of Knaresborough and a clip went viral of Brimham Rocks staff kicking out a mobile DJ, the Harrogate district is becoming a regular feature on the popular social media platform.

Scrolling through an app like TikTok, where millions post videos of dance routines and comedy lip-sync clips, you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see the likes of Harrogate town centre, Knaresborough Castle or Fountains Abbey popping up on screen.

But more and more individuals, and more recently companies, are recognising how much the platform can boost your profile, with one small clip sometimes reaching millions of people from across the globe.

There is no denying that TikTok videos featuring the area are an effective way of showcasing what it has to offer, including places, people and businesses.

DJ Zach Sabri, who is better known as SUAT on TikTok recently went viral with this video filmed at Brimham Rocks.

Harrogate marketing agency Marketing Adventures uses the social media platform to help promote clients.

Creative director Brogan Huntington said:

“As a digital marketing agency with a young, innovative team, we have used TikTok for some time now.

“It is an incredible marketing tool. We use it for the majority of our clients especially in the property and food and beverage industries.

“It has taken some time for Harrogate businesses to become accustomed to the idea of using TikTok in order to promote their business online, as their perception has been that it is a younger audience. Although this is somewhat true, this video-based platform is a great way to build a brand and speak to your clients and your future clients.

“Video is one of our favourite tools to promote business and we have seen exceptional success through via sales videos have produced on social media.”

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Global hair and beauty brand Cloud Nine, which is based in Harrogate, started using TikTok in 2020 to promote its products.

Naomi Horan, social media and influencer manager, said:

“In 2020 and the year of lockdown, people looked to social media for a sense of release from their mundane work-from-home set up.

“TikTok proved pivotal in becoming both an escape and a source of inspiration, with everything from dance challenges and duets, to food recipes and every day hacks. This month, TikTok has reported over one billion active monthly users – you can no doubt expect you’ll find a percentage of your audience on this platform.

“For Cloud Nine, TikTok is going to become a crucial part of our 2022 plans to engage with our audiences in ways we have never done before.

“TikTok themselves say, ‘Don’t make ads, make TikToks’ – brands need to entertain their audience, build their awareness and in turn, they’ll reap the rewards.”

4 TikTok videos with more than 100k views featuring the Harrogate district’s people and places

Livharlandmusic – Harrogate busking

Liv Harland is from York, but can regularly be seen busking in Harrogate on her TikToks. In fact the singer, who has 1.5 million followers, had some of the biggest live stream moments of the year on the social media site, where she broadcasts herself busking. In 2021 she was fourth, fifth and seventh on the Top 10 list of the most watched live moments by artists on TikTok, alongside Ed Sheeran, Yungblud and Coldplay.

In this live TikTok, one of the many filmed in Harrogate, she clocked up a whopping 4.1 million views singing her version of Runaway by Aurora. In the video she notices a man in the background, who appears to have confused a loaf of bread with a mobile phone. We’ve all been there. It was one of her most viewed last year and features Cambridge Street.

https://www.tiktok.com/@livharlandmusic/video/6960310322603330821?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7033698343524288005

Amealmeal  – Harrogate accent

In this Tiktok video, which clocked up 520,000 views, Mila, a student nurse from Harrogate, has clearly been having difficulty getting others to understand why she doesn’t have a broad Yorkshire accent. All down to how well spoken we are in this town of course! The struggle is real.

https://www.tiktok.com/@amealmeal/video/7023100067812773125?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7033698343524288005

Beauty.spectrum – Visit to Knaresborough and Harrogate

OK, so this one hasn’t quite hit the 100k mark at 20.6k, however this TikTok of a day trip to Knaresborough was also featured on YouTuber Molly Thompson’s weekly vlog back in September, which also clocked up thousands of views. Molly has 130k subscribers to her YouTube channel.

In the vlog Molly, from Beverley, talks about how it has recently become popular for people to go to the town and take photos on the boats while rowing underneath the viaduct. She heads to Knaresborough with her friend for an “Instagram day” — she also has 64.7k followers on Instagram — and films her trip for Youtube and TikTok.

The TikTok video features Knaresborough Castle, the riverside and of course the boats and viaduct. She then heads to Harrogate and buys some donuts from Doe Bakehouse. Filmed on a sunny day last September, Knaresborough certainly needs no filter and looks stunning as always.

https://www.tiktok.com/@beauty.spectrum/video/6873833828159425794?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7033698343524288005

 

flyingscotsgirl  – Filming locations for The Witcher at Fountains Abbey and Malhamdale

Cat Thomson’s tours around Yorkshire’s villages, towns and countryside have been a big hit on TikTok. She saw a huge spike in her number of followers after lockdown in 2020, thanks to more people looking for places to stay in the UK.

Now living in Leeds, she regularly visits North Yorkshire and is a big fan of Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.

This video features a list of filming locations for season two of Netflix hit show, The Witcher, starring Henry Cavill. It includes Fountains Abbey, Plumpton Rocks near Harrogate, Goredale Scar and Janet’s Foss waterfalls in Malhamdale.

https://www.tiktok.com/@flyingscotsgirl/video/6901395697682107650?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7033698343524288005

Council urges residents to report ‘increased’ dog fouling in Harrogate

Harrogate Borough Council has urged residents to report dog fouling to its dog warden team.

It comes after an increase in reports of dog owners not picking up after their pets around Harlow Hill.

The council’s dog warden service said in a post on Facebook that the Otley Road area around Beckwith Road, Nursery Lane and the ginnel from the Shepherd’s Dog Pub to the allotments was “particularly bad”.

It urged people to report anyone seen using the same route regularly who does not pick up their dog’s mess, either by getting in touch on its website or by calling 01423 500600.

The statement said:

“Without this information it makes it harder to focus patrols and make a difference.”

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The council can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £80 for dog fouling. However, an FOI request submitted by the Stray Ferret last year revealed the council had issued no fines for dog fouling in the preceding 12 months.

It looks after more than 250 dog waste bins across the district.

Green Shoots: Harrogate Town’s vegan footballer who is passionate about environment

Harrogate Town midfielder George Thomson is part of a growing cohort of professional footballers who are vegan and passionate about the environment.

Fan favourite Thomson joined Town in 2017. He’s played more than 160 matches and been a key cog in Simon Weaver’s history-making side that was promoted to the English Football League for the first time in the club’s 100-year existence. Town are at home to Oldham this afternoon.

Players including Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero and England player Jesse Lingard have gone vegan for health reasons but Thomson told the Stray Ferret his conscience couldn’t allow him to continue eating meat. He made the switch five years ago.

He said:

“Agriculture is one of the main contributors to global warming, it gives off a high percentage of greenhouse gases. It’s known to contribute more than even cars.” 

Thompson was shocked after watching the Netflix documentary Cowspiracy, which exposed the impact of meat on climate change, water use, deforestation and ocean dead zones.

He also said that ethically he could no longer eat meat due to the suffering caused to animals.

He added:

“I saw what happens and I didn’t want to be a part of it. I didn’t want that on my conscience.

“There’s so much information now so I did lots of research.” 

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Thomson, who is known as one of the fittest players in Town’s squad, said it’s a misconception that becoming vegan will result in a lack of protein.

“I wasn’t going to be deficient in something that would affect my job. What stuck with me, no vegan player has been to a doctor with a protein deficiency. There’s protein in every single food. We eat a lot of beans and lentils that are high in protein. It’s like anything, you get used to it and it becomes easy.”

He’s not the only vegan at the club: midfielder Alex Pattison also recently made the switch, although Thomson said they face some friendly banter from the meat-eaters in the dressing room.

‘Something I believe in’

Forest Green Rovers, who play in League Two alongside Harrogate, have been described by FIFA as the “greenest club in the world” and they’ve even been recognised by the UN for their eco-credentials.

Only vegan meals are served at their ground, which is powered by 100% renewable energy and includes electric vehicle charging points.

Thomson, who cycles to training, said he supported the club’s model:

“It’s a great concept what they’ve done at Forest Green, even the kit is made of recycled plastic.

“The environment is a massive topic at the minute, everyone is beginning to be more conscious about their carbon footprint. For me, being vegan helps massively and you have the health benefits on top. I’d support what they’ve done there massively, it’s something I believe in”.

And with vegans options now much more mainstream, he said he doesn’t have to miss out on a celebratory pizza with teammates after a match thanks to Dominos’ vegan option.