In 2007 the old Civic Offices in St George’s Street, grade II listed but unloved and half empty, were urgently in need of a future. In 2012, following an asset transfer two years earlier of the heritage building into the hands of the newly constituted Hebden Bridge Community Association, Hebden Bridge Town Hall’s new extension was formally opened, complete with meeting rooms, office space and a courtyard cafe.
Andrew Bibby, active in the campaign to save the building and the first Secretary of the Community Association, will offer a first-hand account of the ups and downs, the achievements and near failures, that ultimately brought the Town Hall project to a successful conclusion.
Andrew is an author and journalist who has lived in Hebden Bridge since 1989. He has written several books, including All Our Own Work about the Nutclough Fustian Co-operative and These Houses are Ours, about housing co-operatives.