Harrogate Homeless Project appoints new chief executive

Harrogate Homeless Project has appointed Francis McAllister as its new chief executive.

Mr McAllister, who lives in Harrogate, was previously deputy chief executive at Leeds homelessness charity St George’s Crypt and previously was part of the senior leadership team at the NSPCC.

He has worked in the charity sector since 1994 when he joined children’s charity Barnardo’s as deputy director of fundraising.

The charity, which receives funding from Harrogate Borough Council, runs a 16-person hostel on on Bower Street that accepts referrals from the council as well as self-referrals from individuals in need of accommodation.

It also operates five bunk beds for emergency overnight accommodation, the Springboard day centre for homeless people at the Wesley Centre in Harrogate and a three-bed house and eight flats where staff provide support to people not yet ready to move on to fully independent living.

According to latest accounts filed with the Charity Commission, it employed 22 staff and had income of £585,000 and spending of £597,000 in the financial year ending August 31, 2020.

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Mr McAllister said Harrogate Homeless Project had “a very clear ambition to increase the positive impact it has on the lives of those who need its support”, adding:

“I have experience of delivering some of the changes that are already being discussed to help widen its reach and I also have an enthusiastic team of staff, volunteers and trustees to work alongside me.”

Harrogate Homeless Project is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022 with a series of events and a campaign to raise funds to develop its Springboard day centre.

Liz Hancock announced in December she would step down as chief executive after 16 years at the organisation.

Its chair, David Thomas, said:

“Francis’s experience of working alongside other third sector organisations and stakeholders to deliver services very similar to those we operate here in Harrogate will be of enormous value to us at this pivotal moment in our evolution as a charity and we are delighted to have him on board.”

 

Harrogate Election Hustings: your chance to quiz the candidates

The Stray Ferret is hosting an election hustings in Harrogate ahead of a crucial polling day for the town.

In what will prove to be the biggest change in local government in North Yorkshire since the 1970s, this is your chance to grill candidates standing in Harrogate on the future of the town.

The elections on May 5 will be the last before North Yorkshire Council replaces Harrogate Borough Council and the six districts.

It will leave Harrogate without a town council and raises questions over the future of the town itself.

Those attending the hustings will be standing for the new council and will answer questions on behalf of their party locally.

This is your chance to put questions to candidates on the issues that matter to you, whether that be housing, highways or the local economy.

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The Stray Ferret Hustings: 

The hustings will be held at the Wesley Centre, Oxford Street, on Tuesday, April 26, from 7pm until 9pm and will be free for the public to attend.

All parties including Labour, Conservative, the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and the independents have been invited to attend the event.

Four out of five of the parties have indicated their intention to take part – the Conservatives have yet to respond to the invitation.

Confirmation of the candidates attending the hustings will be made closer to the date.

If you would like to submit a question to put to the candidates, send it to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk with the subject heading “hustings question”. We will also take on the night from the audience.

To book a tickets for the hustings click here.

Candlelight concert to be held in Harrogate in aid of charity

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata will be played by candlelight at a recital in Harrogate in aid of charity.

British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith (pictured above) will perform the sonata at the Wesley Centre on December 9.

The event will also feature music by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov and Gershwin.

The event is being held in aid of Artizan International, a charity that raises money for people with disabilities in the UK and the developing world.

Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £5 for students. The concert will start at 7.30pm.

For more information, visit the Ticketsource website.

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Take two: Harrogate venue set to restart concerts

A Harrogate venue is set to restart live music performances once again after the last planned restart was curtailed by the second national coronavirus lockdown.

The Wesley Centre, on Oxford Street, is due to host its first concert in more than a year when pianist Clare Hammond plays on June 7 at 1pm.

As the church has opened up the ground floor for the Harrogate Homeless Project’s Springboard service, the concert will be held on the upper floor.

It means that the capacity of the concert is much lower, especially with social distancing. There are only around 70 tickets on sale for this event rather than the usual 240.

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Organisers have said that, due to social distancing, tickets will cost £10. Reserve a ticket by calling Andrew Hitchen on 01423 883618 or send an email here.

Mark Bebbington is also due to hold a lunctime recital on July 5 at 1pm. There are also plans for two further concerts on June 21 and July 19, details of which will be released soon.

Peter Hirschmann told the Stray Ferret:

“We had a concert planned last November but then there was another lockdown so we had to cancel. So we are very keen to get this organised.

“There is an audience there who are desperate to go to concerts again.

“The sooner we get back to no restrictions the better. Financially it’s a considerable contraint on our activities.

“However, our patrons The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation have been very supportive.”

Harrogate BID pledges £60,000 to tackle homelessness

Harrogate Business Improvement District is to give the Harrogate Homeless Project £15,000 a year for the next four years.

The funding will go towards converting the lower hall at the Wesley Centre into a day centre for homeless people.

The sum is in addition to the £37,500 the church received from the National Lottery’s coronavirus community support fund.

The Wesley Centre will use the awards to install new toilets and refurbish the kitchen ready for the day centre services.

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Liz Hancock, chief executive of Harrogate Homeless Project, said it was “hugely grateful” to the BID:

“We will now be fundraising hard to realise some of the ambitions we have to extend our operating hours and expand health, wellbeing, skills and rehabilitation services.

“This significant donation will be over four years, allowing us to plan with certainty to develop this fundamental service.”

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of Harrrogate BID said:

“One of our key objectives is to make Harrogate town centre ‘safe, clean and welcoming’, and we see our partnership with Harrogate Homeless Project as a key driver in this.

“When homeless people gather in the town it can be intimidating for some people, and Springboard will offer them a sanctuary where they can go and receive the support they need.”

20 Harrogate district charities awarded £415,000

Twenty voluntary organisations in the Harrogate district have shared £415,000 from the government’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund.

The fund enables small and medium sized not-for-profit organisations to help vulnerable groups during the pandemic.

A total of 8,250 organisations shared £200 million nationally.

The largest local beneficiaries were Community Catalysts, a social enterprise in Harrogate that helps people run community businesses, which received £69,000 and the Knaresborough community arts charity Orb, which was awarded £65,000.

Other major beneficiaries included Yorkshire Yoga & Therapy Centre in Knaresborough and Harrogate’s Wesley Centre, which received £48,990 and £37,500 respectively.

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In a statement on his website, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“Over the last decade since I became the MP for our area I have seen first-hand the valuable work many of the organisations do.

“I am delighted that they are benefiting from the support fund and continuing the fantastic work they do.”

The successful applicants were:

Community Catalysts £69,000
Orb £65,000
Yorkshire Yoga and Therapy Centre £48,990
Wesley Centre £37,500
Harrogate Mind £24,700
Open Country £24,212
Harrogate and District Community Action £23,346
Disability Action Yorkshire £21,893
Artizan International £19,465
Claro Enterprises £10,000
Resurrected Bites £10,000
Cliff House Community Support Services £10,000
Saint Michael’s Hospice £9,107
Boroughbridge and District Community Care £9,000
Autism Angels £8,500
Harrogate Samaritans £8,000
Vision Support Harrogate District £7,056
New Beginnings peer support group £4,332
Happy Wanderers Ambulance Association £3,200
Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library £1,307

 

Harrogate venue to restart live music performances

A Harrogate venue is set to restart live music performances after lockdown forced an early curtain for its concerts in March.

The Wesley Centre, on Oxford Street, will be hosting three socially distanced concerts between now and early January. 

Susan Tomes will be the first pianist to play as the season reopens on November 2, giving a recital of music by Scarlatti, Debussy, Janacek, Chabrier and Billy Mayerl.

Susan Tomes, the first pianist to play at the Wesley Centre since March.

Normally able to hold about 450 people, there are only 76 seats available for the socially distanced performances. 

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Peter Hirschmann, who runs the Patrons scheme for the Wesley Centre, said:

“Our immediate reaction for ticket sales is that they’re going very rapidly, which is very reassuring. At first we didn’t know how many people would want to come, due to many of our supporters being elderly or vulnerable, so we’re starting out cautiously.

“Live music is back in Harrogate, which is what really matters. Our concert organiser, Andrew Hitchen, had a great response when he emailed supporters about the concerts starting again.”

Tickets can be purchased for £10 by telephoning Andrew Hitchen on 01423 883618 between 6pm and 8pm.