A community organisation, HBCA acquired The Town Hall in 2010 and is now responsible for its ongoing management and financial sustainability.

Primarily, The Town Hall is focused on the ongoing regeneration and economic development of Hebden Bridge and offers a range of subsidised services to enable the local community to thrive. The governance of the HBCA is managed by a board of volunteer trustees and the organisation is supported by around 400 Friends of The Town Hall.

Our Trustees

Jane Morris: Chair

Jane has lived in Hebden Bridge since 1989 . She values the enterprising, community-building culture here and wants to support HBCA in contributing to this. She has spent her working life in public services, first as a manager in third sector organisations working with homeless and vulnerable people in London, then as a social worker in mental health, then for the last 25 years in the NHS as a psychotherapist. She knows how much good communities contribute to our health and happiness. Her main passions are music, landscape, friends and her family, the younger members of which have grown up for much of their lives here, and attended local schools.

Will Lake

Will is a freelance copywriter whose clients include a wide variety of local and nationwide businesses, charities and public sector organisations. He’s also been involved with the town’s hebdenbridge.org website since it was launched in 2018. Will took an office in the Town Hall when they first became available, back in 2012, and he’s passionate about the role of the building and the services it provides to the town’s business and residential communities. As a long-standing tenant who uses the building most days, he can offer a helpful insight into its everyday workings for business users. Originally from Mirfield, West Yorkshire, he’s lived here in Hebden Bridge since 2000, so he knows our town well. Away from his desk, you’re likely to find him cycling or hiking in the surrounding hills, or out and about with his camera.

Alan Gardner

Alan has lived in the centre of Hebden Bridge and Wadsworth/Old Town for over a decade and has two sons in Old Town Primary School. Alan and his partner were amongst the first couples to be married in the Town Hall extension. Alan is a Chartered Building Surveyor with almost 30 years of experience in the historic built environment that covers charitable, statutory, large commercial, and smaller, private practice environments covering a wide variety of roles in relation to historic buildings including technical awareness, statutory and contractual experience, and extensive dealings with grant-giving bodies. Alan is keen to “put something back” into the local community based on his relevant experience. Alan’s previous examples have included pro-bono technical advice post-flooding and in relation to the consolidation of the ceiling and redecoration at the Picture House in Hebden Bridge.

Damien Woolliscroft

Damien is an accredited Senior Conservation Architect, currently working in the Manchester Studio of Purcell, the largest heritage architectural practice in the UK. For the last few years, Damien’s focus has been working on heritage assets owned/operated by local authorities, in particular Cheshire East Council where he has served as Consultant Surveyor to Tatton Park for the last 4 years. In the last 12 months, Damien has been actively working with a number of authorities on their High Street Heritage Action Zone programmes.   Damien moved here after a short visit to the town in 2013 and has never looked back. Damien lives a stone’s throw from the Town Hall, walks past every day on the way to work, and is keen to get involved with local heritage.

Rachael Swindlehurst

With a background in Brand Marketing and Events Management for some of the UK's most iconic brands, Rachael relocated to Hebden Bridge in 2015 - just in time for the Boxing Day floods. As a new resident in the town, Rachael witnessed how fundamental the Town Hall was to the community, both as a physical sanctuary and a base for the numerous volunteer communities that sprung into action from the building. Genuinely overwhelmed by the generosity and empathy of people from all areas of society, Rachael wanted to contribute to the continued success of the charity and the building - celebrating what makes Hebden Bridge such a special place to live.

Rebecca Blackwell

Rebecca is a CIMA-qualified chartered accountant having worked in the manufacturing industry for the last 7 years specialising in management accounts and performance improvement. She has held senior finance roles within FTSE 250 to private equity-owned businesses and is currently working for A-SAFE UK, a global LTD company that manufactures safety barriers based Elland, as their Group Financial Controller. Over the last few years, throughout COVID, Rebecca decided she wanted to give something back to a cause where she can use her experience and expand her knowledge further which led her to HBCA.

Paul Guy & Sue Barlow

Paul & Sue joined the Board in August and October 2023 respectively following a recruitment exercise which started around the AGM in March 2023. Paul & Sue will be proposed to the AGM on 23rd March 2024 for formal election.

Graham Mynott: Executive Director of HBCA

The Company Secretary is Graham Mynott, Executive Director of Hebden Bridge Community Association. Graham has been an employee since January 2016 but is not a Company Director or Trustee of the Charity.