HOUSE PRICES

THE APPEAL of Hebden Bridge, with its exciting festivals, independent shops and openminded community hasn’t escaped notice.

In recent years, house prices in the town have rocketed, with The Financial Times reporting in 2016 that its homes sell for a 26 per cent premium against others in the Calder Valley. According to Zoopla, the average cost of a home

Prof Smith was himself in Hebden Bridge conducting door-to-door research on the town’s regeneration when he discovered a high concentration of lesbian couples living there.

He believes that the lesbian community’s involvement in the anti-nuclear movement in the late 60s, 70s and 80s may have brought same-sex couples into the town along with other protest groups, artists and alternative communities.

Once this had happened, he says, the reputation of Hebden Bridge as a liberal, open-minded place was forged, “attracting like-minded people into the area”, and growing the lesbian population.

Long before marriage equality, and at a time when homosexuality was still partially criminalised, lesbian currently stands at £214,596. In a follow-up study on the Hebden Bridge community last year, Prof Darren Smith says that he did encounter a feeling among some residents that the town has “lost its authenticity” in recent years, with “successful artists, photographers, musicians” now migrating there in place of the “fledgling artists” who arrived in the late 60s.

couples found a supportive community in Hebden Bridge, with many raising families in the town.

The result in today’s Hebden Bridge is a large LGBT+ population, a supportive community around them, and a thriving music, arts and creative scene. “There’s lots of straight allies”, says Sean, something he believes has been “crucial” to the fight against homophobia and transphobia in the local area.

While 68 per cent of respondents in a 2019 UK-wide LGBT+ survey said they had avoided holding hands with a partner in public, Sean says that things are different in Hebden Bridge. “You can hold hands here, nobody bats an eyelid. And the kids and young people are just the same, they have friends with same sex parents...it’s just this really lovely atmosphere where you can be yourself – I lived in Rochdale before, which was far from it.”

Of course, that’s not to say that Hebden Bridge hasn’t had its problems. Helen Baron, a local DJ who lives in the town with her wife, says that while it’s “a really nice place to be if you’re gay”, she believes that most non-heterosexual couples “pick where they hold hands”.

Both Sean and Helen speak of a “weekend effect” whereby homophobic abuse often comes from weekend daytrippers visiting from neighbouring cities or towns.

“We’ve had people coming in clearly looking for trouble because they know the reputation,” says Sean, adding that members of the community have experienced verbal harassment as a result.

Transphobia, says Sean, is also a pressing issue which the LGBT+ community is grappling with today in all areas of the country. “I think the amount of transphobia is very similar to the amount of homophobia around in the 80s when the AIDS crisis within full swing.”

He believes, however, that education is the key to tackling these lingering issues. While a trustee for Happy Valley Pride, he went into schools to educate students about LGBT+ issues – something he never could have imagined happening when he was young. “I grew up during Section 28, we weren’t allowed to talk about it, I was horribly bullied... that was a horrible time and we really didn’t want that to carry on (for kids)”.

Happy Valley Pride itself, believes Helen, is part of this education, which makes the postponement of the festival this year particularly difficult to take. “We bring the community together, all ages, and all genders – everyone is welcome.

“And it’s nice to have online content, but it’s really important for the LGBTQ+community to feel supported to feel brought together; that continuous representation is the only way we’re going to get the message across that really, we’re just people”. Sean believes the community has only become more inclusive over the years, with Sean himself running a local social group Out in the Valley: “Before (the LGBT+ community) was more a kind of individual network...you’d have to get invited to places – whereas now we’re a lot better... we just say we’ll be here at this time, just come and join us or say hi”. For everyone in the community, but especially those under the LGBT+ umbrella, Hebden Bridge is a rare haven in a nation that is still unfortunately battling the scourge of homophobia.

“To be yourself and not be on guard all the time, hypervigilant, it’s brilliant,” says Sean. “The whole community, whether they’re straight or allied is really proud of Hebden Bridge for that reason.”