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21
Oct
Troubled HADCA to become part of Saint Michael’s Hospice
Troubled Harrogate & District Community Action is to become part of Saint Michael’s Hospice, the organisations announced today (October 21).
The two charities said they believed joining forces offers the strongest opportunity to secure HADCA’s future.
HADCA supports not-for-profit organisations across the district and helps provide volunteers. But its income has fallen from £459,000 in 2021 to £304,000 in 2025.
The Stray Ferret reported in 2024 that North Yorkshire Council had significantly reduced the funding HADCA previously received from Harrogate Borough Council.
Today’s announcement acknowledged that HADCA’s “current financial position presents a significant long-term sustainability challenge”.
It added:
By acting now, the board believes that joining Saint Michael’s offers the strongest opportunity to protect HADCA’s work and secure a more sustainable future for the services and relationships it has developed over many years.
Community House
What will happen to Community House?
HADCA owns Community House, a building on East Parade containing 30 serviced offices. Its accounts also showed reserves of £172,000 at the end of March 2024.
These assets, along with staff, are likely to transfer to Saint Michael’s, which is based at Hornbeam Park. However, today’s announcement did not specify what would happen to the building, HADCA’s reserves or its employees.
The organisations said they were “working through the necessary legal, regulatory and practical arrangements”, adding that a date for the transition had not yet been confirmed.
The future of the two organisations’ boards is also unclear.
Seven HADCA trustees are listed on the Charity Commission website, including Claire Schmidt, Saint Michael’s director of client services. She joined the board, chaired by Helen Bourner, in October last year.
Saint Michael’s has eight trustees, including chair Joanne Crewe.
A 63-year history
HADCA’s roots date back to 1963, when Ripon CVS was established.
Harrogate and Area CVS was founded in 1988 and incorporated Harrogate Volunteer Centre, which had been set up in 1973.
The Harrogate and Ripon organisations merged in 2013 under the trading name Harrogate and Ripon Centres for Voluntary Service. The organisation adopted the name Harrogate and District Community Action in 2020.
HADCA and Saint Michael’s have previously worked together on funding applications, community projects and staff secondments.
Tony Collins, chief executive of Saint Michael’s Hospice, said HADCA’s work was too valuable not to have a strong future.
He said:
By bringing our organisations together, we have the opportunity to combine HADCA’s local knowledge, trusted relationships and voluntary sector expertise with the resources, infrastructure and experience of Saint Michael’s.
We want to become an even stronger champion for positive change and build on what HADCA has achieved and help its work reach even further.
Helen Bourner, HADCA’s chair, said the board had carefully considered the organisation’s financial outlook and the options available. She added:
We are immensely proud of HADCA’s contribution to the local voluntary and community sector and of everything our staff, volunteers, members, trustees and partners have achieved together.
Our responsibility is to ensure that this work has the strongest possible future. We have carefully considered HADCA’s financial outlook and the options available to us, undertaking our own detailed due diligence as part of that process. We believe joining Saint Michael’s offers the best opportunity to protect and develop our work for the long term.
The organisations said HADCA staff, members, volunteers, funders and partners would continue to receive updates as the arrangements progress.
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