From Mick Percival

Thursday, 16 August 2018

Instead of criticising the pubs of Hebden Bridge, how about cheering and supporting them?

Since the floods, which caused huge financial hardship to the hardworking tenants, it has been great to see the committed re-investment into these vitally important businesses, and the way in which they have striven to help re-develop an otherwise struggling community. Why not get behind them and help them to attract ever more invaluable visitors?

The car parking facilities are poor to say the least, there is virtually no police presence (despite the pubs paying a chunk of their business rates towards policing of the town), and it would appear that the council are doing nothing to tap into the opportunities the tourism pound could bring to the town either.

Publicans are hard working business people, yet to my knowledge have never once been consulted as to how the development of the town might be steered. If it wasn't for pubs like the Albert, the White Lion, the White Swan and the Old Gate (to name but a few) there wouldn't be much of anything going on here, and many of the retail shops wouldn't survive.

They provide meeting places, they support countless musicians, employ dozens of local people, and provide food, drink and entertainment to all.
Give them a break for goodness sake, or you're going to kill the town for sure.

Focus on providing decent facilities for parking, work on showing a police presence (a friendly face) rather than committing the pubs to funding door staff, who are seen as somewhat of a red rag to a bull anyhow - and not in keeping with the town.

If the pubs aren't allowed to flourish in the spring and summer then they will close altogether, and then you'll all be complaining about that for sure, so be careful what you wish for guys. You need the pubs more than you think.