Who we are

Our trustees are chosen by election by our 500+ members.

 

Book a room

Planning a meeting or an event? See what we can offer!

 

News and media

Check out our media releases and videos here

 

Our development plans

We are actively developing a major new-build extension to the Town Hall. Details here.

 

Library of documents

Plenty of details here about what we're doing. Have a browse!

 

Our diary

Follow our story as it unfolds week by week

 

Donate

Help us in our work

 

Our story

The past few years saw a concerted community-led campaign in Hebden Bridge to see our beautiful but neglected Town Hall building brought back to the centre of community life. This culminated in the successful asset transfer of the Town Hall from Calderdale council to our newly formed community-run charitable trust, Hebden Bridge Community Association.

Our vision for Hebden Bridge Town Hall (a landmark listed building, previously underutilised and poorly maintained) is based on a set of complementary activities:

•  delivery of public services, by public and voluntary sector organisations

•  provision of office accommodation for Calderdale MBC and Town/Parish councils.

•  provision of hall/function room and meeting rooms for community use

•  development of Hebden Bridge Creative Quarter, a new enterprise centre focused on small and microenterprises in the creative and digital sector

In the summer of 2006, a dedicated Town Hall project group brought together representatives of Hebden Royd Town Council, and Blackshaw, Erringden, Heptonstall and Wadsworth Parish Councils. This group, working with Hebden Bridge Partnership (the local community-led regeneration group), held initial exploratory meetings with Calderdale council, which owned the Town Hall.

The publication in May 2007 of the report Making Assets Work (the Quirk report), with its message that communities be empowered to own and manage community assets, acted as a strong stimulus to the work of the working party. The announcement of the Community Assets Programme, a £30m government fund linked to asset transfers administered by the Big Lottery Fund, acted as another catalyst. In October 2007, Hebden Bridge Partnership and Calderdale MBC jointly agreed to submit a bid to the Community Assets Programme. The bid was for approximately £830,000, and was to make the building fully accessible, with the provision of a new entrance foyer (at pavement level), a new atrium, a lift, and extensive renovation of the existing fabric.

The Community Assets Programme bid attracted major community support in Hebden Bridge.The bid was shortlisted, but ultimately was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the detailed business planning undertaken for it proved valuable and brought together an active voluntary project team.

Following the Community Assets Programme decision, the project team took the strategic decision to continue with its work, and to explore the potential for more ambitious developments on the site, including the creation of a small enterprise centre. Detailed discussions with officers from Calderdale council continued, on a regular basis. Hebden Bridge Town Hall was one of two demonstration initiatives for asset transfer identified in Calderdale's participation in the Advancing Assets programme.

An important development in Autumn 2008 was the creation of a new legal entity, Hebden Bridge Community Association Ltd, specifically established to act as the vehicle for the potential asset transfer of the Town Hall into community control. Hebden Bridge Community Association was incorporated as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee in August 2008 and was given registered charity status by the Charity Commission in January 2009. Its constitution has been carefully drawn up in order to meet the commitment to democracy and accountabilty which underlays the whole project. Membership is open to all individuals and organisations in Hebden Bridge (and further afield), who elect the charity's board of trustees. Membership of the Association was formally launched (through the ‘Friends of the Town Hall' scheme) in April 2009. Currently over five hundred members have been enrolled.

Following Calderdale council's adoption of a Framework policy for Community Management of Assets in April 2009, the project team submitted a formal proposal for asset transfer in June 2009. Calderdale Cabinet agreed to the asset transfer in December 2009, and the transfer took place on 1st April 2010. Under the deal, the Association was given a 40-year (now 125 year) leasehold ownership of the Town Hall, for a nominal £1 ground rent a year. Calderdale council becomes the Town Hall's anchor tenant, paying rent to the Association which broadly reflects the previous cost to the council of running and maintaining the Town Hall. Calderdale council also made a £60,000 grant and a £60,000 interest-free loan to the Association, to enable a backlog of maintenance and building work to be undertaken after asset transfer.

The Association has worked hard to develop a major capital build development on land at the side and rear of the Town Hall, which will bring brand new community and enterprise facilifies to the town. Work on this £3.7m project (being funded by Community Builders and ERDF) is now well advanced, with building work having begun in April 2011. More information about the capital build development is available on this website.

If you're interested in finding out more about our story, have a look at our booklet Making Asset Transfer Work, produced jointly with Calderdale council. We have also kept a diary ever since late 2007, where you can trace all the highs and lows as we recorded them at the time. It is all here, on our website, completely unexpurgated!