This morning spent in meeting people from market towns all over Yorkshire, whilst they looked round Hebden Bridge and we tried to explain the inexplicable, how Hebden Bridge was regenerated. It is a difficult question… Not something you can give a simple answer or even a single answer.
Part of the answer lies with individuals, notably David Fletcher who in the sixties and seventies with just a few others began to buy up property and campaign to save others.
Part of the answer lies in the people who lived there and those who came to live there. If that is the case then we have to give some credit to the presence of magic mushrooms, which attracted so the legend goes Hippies to the area. Today we enjoy the presence of the IT active grandchildren.
Part of the answer could be strategy and documents: plenty were produced including the latest 25 year plan.
Part of the answer could be partners: Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Forward to name two of the biggest activists. Of note as well is the role of the Parish Councils preserved in the 1970’s when many others fell. Today they are great bastions against broader forces which could dramatically change or dramatically fossilize the town.
How was Hebden Bridge regenerated?
Probably the boring answer is that all of these factors brought regeneration.
It's complex, boring sometimes even but this recipe is a complex one.
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