Town Hall Team appoint Project Worker

Tuesday, 6 April 2010

Hebden Bridge Community Association, the member-led charity which is taking over control of the Town Hall from Calderdale council, has announced that it has appointed its first member of staff.

Kate Rae will begin working for the Association, on a part-time basis, early in April. Kate moved to Cragg Vale in 1987 from Rochdale, and now lives in the hills above Blackshaw Head. She has a background in community work, having worked in Rochdale in the years from 1984 in a variety of regeneration and community participation roles. She has experience of community development work in Housing Action Areas where amongst other things she developed local community centres, community newspapers, and playschemes.

Kate has also worked as the Tenant Participation Manager for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing. She has been a director of a recycling organisation and has also been a school governor at Colden School. She joins the Association at a key moment in the development of the Hebden Bridge Town Hall project.

After more than two years of planning and negotiation, the Association signed the asset transfer agreement with Calderdale earlier this week, and will take over management and control of the landmark building on April 1st.

“We are delighted to welcome Kate as our first project worker, and are sure that she will bring a great deal to the position. This is an exciting time for us, as we demonstrate that a community organisation can successfully manage and develop a key public building,” says Peter Hirst, chair of the Association.