Overview

Harrogate Town Football Club kindly invited Disability Action Yorkshire (DAY) Charity to visit their ground, The Exercise Stadium, Wetherby Road, Harrogate during match day. The team competes in League Two and the ground capacity is 5,000 (2,000 seated). We, Nigel, Disability Access Co-ordinator at DAY, and Robert, a Board of Trustees member at DAY and a wheelchair user, were extremely impressed with the overall facilities available. Although there are some minor limitations, the welcoming staff and volunteers, the provision in advance of our visit of an access statement, map of the ground and a link to a video providing information as to what expect from the visit and also asking if we required a disabled seat with space for a wheelchair ticket undoubtedly mitigated these. A copy of the map and the video are included in the photo and video/audio sections below.

Transport & Parking

Parking at the ground was very easy. Robert was dropped off and picked up at the car park the Heatherdene Car Park which is situated off Lancaster Park Road directly adjacent to the ground and which has 20 blue badge parking spaces in total. These can be pre-booked by means of contacting the club in advance DAO@harrogatetownafc.com. There is no other parking at the ground, although there is street parking available nearby. Generally, away coaches are instructed to park at the Yorkshire Show Ground, situated off Wetherby Road and approximately 1 mile from the ground. However, visiting fans with disabilities can be dropped off, with agreement from the coach driver, at Willow Tree Primary School Wetherby Rd, Harrogate HG2 7SG which is 0.2 miles from the ground. If you are using public transport to the ground, the nearest bus stop is directly adjacent to the ground and no more than 100 metres from the main Northgate entrance, off Wetherby Road. The main Wetherby Bus Service is number 7 (Transdev) and the X70 (Connexions busses), and they stop and are approximately 10 minutes from Harrogate's main bus station. Disability Action Yorkshire have close links with Transdev, and can confirm that the buses are low level vehicles, which mean that they can be lowered to pavement level, when the bus stops and the doors open. Each bus has a minimum of one dedicated wheelchair space, dedicated space for assistance dogs, support rails and non slip floors. Links are https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/the-harrogate-bus-company/ and https://www.connexionsbuses.com/ If you are travelling by train, the nearest railway station is in Harrogate, approximately 1.1 miles from ground; Hornbeam Park Railway Station is approximately 1.3 mile from the ground. Harrogate train station is mainly served by LNER and Northern trains. Links are https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/stations/harrogate and https://www.lner.co.uk/destinations/trains-to-harrogate/. Northern run trains directly from York and Leeds, whilst LNER run trains from Leeds (although these do not stop at Hornbeam Park Station)

Access

Access to the ground was very easy. If you have arrived by car and are parked in the Heatherdene Car Park, this is close to the ramped access to the ground. As we had made Harrogate Town aware that we would be attending, we were welcomed by Maggie (Harrogate Towns Disability Access Officer), who directed us straight into the ground. Maggie kindly advised us of our location, pointing out the accessible bar area, the location of toilet facilities and took us to our designated wheelchair bay which also had a companion seat beside. We were also introduced to Harrogate Towns Mascot - Harry the Gator! In total there are 12 wheelchair user spaces, which are available to home and visiting fans which are located adjacent to the pitch providing a good view of the game itself. There are also accessible seats on the front row as well for fans who are unable to climb up the steep steps on the rest of the stand. On a positive note, we were also made aware of work ongoing to provide additional away supporters accessible seating, currently at design stage, which should be in place within the next 3 years. Unfortunately, as soon as the game kicked off, the weather closed in and it started to rain. Although the seating area is not totally sheltered, Maggie straight away provided us with ponchos (free of charge) which were very welcome and did the job. However, might be a good idea though to check the weather forecast before hand just in case you need to bring your own added weather protection. For fans who are less mobile, or if you arrive on a mobility scooter, wheelchairs are available to get to your seat. Parking locations for wheelchairs and walkers are also clearly signed as are rest seats which are strategically located around the ground due to the distances to enable fans to have a comfort break if needed. Clear signage is provided around the ground, but staff and volunteers are available to direct you if needed. Although on the day we didn't use the main entrances or other parts of the ground, we were informed that hearing loops are located in the reception and service points within the ground to allow fans with hearing impairments to enjoy a more immersive matchday experience. In addition assistance dogs are permitted.

Toilets

Accessible toilets were available and in close proximity to the seating area we were situated. They offer various functions, including disabled toilet, stoma toilet, ladies toilet and baby changing facilities. They are also situated close to the accessible bar area. Robert took advantage of the facilities and access to the toilet was considered good, clean with the facilities themselves including support rails, mirror to low level and an alarm cord. Although no other toilet facilities were used, it is understood that there are a total of 4 accessible toilets and 13 stoma toilets in the stadium, 12 in the home end and 1 in the away end.

Staff

The staff and volunteers are clearly a strong point of Harrogate Town Football Club. From the first minute to the our departure, Maggie and Hamilton were offering to help to make our experience enjoyable and A big plus was also receiving, days in advance of our visit, helpful information as to what expect from the visit and requesting if we required a disabled seat with space for a wheelchair ticket. This included a youtube video presented by Maggie which tells you all you know in advance of visiting the ground. During the game, and as already mentioned earlier, staff were on hand to provide weather protection when it rained., Also just before half time, Maggie kindly provided us with a hot drink and offered a 'food service'. In this instance we didn't order any food, although if we had Maggie would have assisted in purchasing it from the kiosk for us and delivering it to our seats. We were reliably told that the pies at Harrogate Town are definitely worth a try!

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Harrogate Town Football Club, undoubtedly go over and above to provide a ground that is as accessible as possible. Noticeable improvements have been undertaken since a previous access audit completed with Disability Action Yorkshire in 2021, including improved and clear signage inside and outside the ground, additional support rails to toilet facilities and induction loops strategically located around the ground. The ground does have some limitations, which the club are aware of, which are challenging to resolve and would be extremely costly such as access to the hospitality area for people with mobility impairments. However, the club continue to make improvements which will include in the near future the provision of away supporter accessible seating. In addition, Harrogate Town Disability Access Officer, Maggie has recently completed a Disability Awareness Course which will be beneficial to the Club in that inhouse training will continue to be provided to both existing and new staff and volunteers.