TIME FOR A CHANGE: Hebden Bridge as a Transition Town

Imagine Hebden Bridge in 20 years’ time? What will it be like? How do we meet the challenges of accelerating climate change and the dwindling supplies of the oil and gas that fuels our lifestyles?
What can we do between now and then to make this town an even better place to live? And what steps can we take to build a stronger community?

The Transition Town movement is catching on fast around the country and we think it has a lot to offer Hebden Bridge. The term Transition Town basically means a community working together to create local solutions to climate change and peak oil. Transition Towns all over the country are creating energy descent plans for their towns or cities, taking practical steps to becoming less reliant on food, energy, goods and expertise from far away. Gradually, we need to meet many more of our needs much closer to our own streets and doorsteps.

There are already hundreds of villages, towns and cities worldwide who are taking on these basic principles including Keighley, Huddersfield, Ilkley, Marsden and Slaithwaite, Bradford, Leeds and Manchester to name just a few round here. Totnes in Devon is the most advanced example of transition ideas in action.

Hebden Bridge has the very exciting possibility of being at the forefront of grass roots, community solutions to climate change because there is so much already going on in our area around sustainability, and so much expertise to draw on.

The Alternative Technology Centre are working on creating energy, Zero Carbon Cragg Vale is working on becoming carbon neutral, Treesponsibility are reforesting our valley and planting woods for coppacing, The Food Hub and the Orchard group are encouraging people to grow their own food as individuals or in collectives, and Hebden Bridge Transition Town group are providing free energy audits to reduce bills and emissions. Many more groups have been working hard for a long time and there are new groups starting up all the time with new energy and ideas.

The Hebden Bridge Transition group aims to help pull all this together and get the community involved in the widest possible sense.

Over the next few months we will start organising towards a 2 day festival of ideas, music, food, films, talks and fun to mark the launch of Hebden Bridge as a Transition Town in 2010.

We will be talking to as many community groups and individuals as we can in the hope of working together to set Hebden Bridge off on its transition to being a carbon neutral area.
Watch this monthly space for more details, contact us with your ideas, and become involved in the very practical organising of the launch. Next Transition town launch planning meeting at the Trades Club, Wednesday 2nd December at 8pm.