Town Hall looks for enthusiastic project officer

Hebden Bridge Town Hall is looking for a new member of staff, to work on preparing a strong bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a major new project.

"We know there's someone out there who will be just right for this post," says Sarah Lister-Blow, Executive Director of the Hebden Bridge Community Association who runs the Town Hall. "They'll be enthusiastic, organised and efficient and determined to ensure that our application to the Heritage Lottery Fund is the best possible one we can submit."

The Community Association heard just before Christmas that they had successfully been accepted by HLF into the second stage process of receiving HLF grant-funding. The new post, which is for an eight month period, is funded from a development grant of £29,900 which HLF is now making available. The Association will be submitting a full application to HLF for a little over £300,000 at the end of this year, for restoration of the grade II-listed building and for community activities to commemorate its heritage.

Hebden Bridge is one of very few communities in Britain where the Town Hall is owned and run directly by the community, and since taking over responsibility in 2010 the trustees have been working to find the funds to ensure the long-term future of this landmark building. With construction work on the new community and enterprise facilities at the rear of the site now well under way, the focus has turned to the existing Town Hall building, erected in 1897 and 1898. The application to the Heritage Lottery Fund will focus on work to restore the fine Victorian features of the building, including the mosaic floor tiles and the stained glass windows. The capital works on the fabric of the building will be linked to a community-based heritage activity and interpretation project. The new member of staff will be expected to work with all sections of the Hebden Bridge community to develop an innovative and broad-based programme of activities and events, to take place during 2013.

Details of the post and the application form are on the Community Association's website. The closing date for applications is February 17th.

The successful first-round pass achieved by the Community Association means that the proposed project meets HLF criteria for funding, and that HLF believes that that project has the potential to delivery high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The Town Hall application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement by HLF of the outline proposals. The project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.