# And once again. Hebden Bridge....



## Shirl (Mar 10, 2014)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26472423


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## Shirl (Mar 10, 2014)

UK's second city?


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## moose (Mar 10, 2014)

Doesn't even have a decent curry house.


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## JTG (Mar 10, 2014)

That article's full of shit anyway - how the fuck is he defining 'urban areas'?! The County that Used to Be Avon (CUBA for short) is over a million and therefore bigger than this 'south Hampshire' place he's putting up there in the top six or whatever.

Fucking BBC


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## Manter (Mar 10, 2014)

I like the idea of an inside out city with green bits in the middle and Manchester as a suburb....


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## Belushi (Mar 10, 2014)

Apart from the bollocks about Hebden Bridge there is a good argument there for improving the transport infrastructure between the northern cities, particularly Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 11, 2014)

Belushi said:


> Apart from the bollocks about Hebden Bridge there is a good argument there for improving the transport infrastructure between the northern cities, particularly Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.


I completely agree with this. The bollocks about HB is silly though.


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## The Boy (Mar 11, 2014)

Hebden bridge blatantly only gets a mention 'cos that's where the journo lives.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 11, 2014)

The Boy said:


> Hebden bridge blatantly only gets a mention 'cos that's where the journo lives.


Maybe right - I read somewhere that lots of the BBC staff when they were moved North moved there. So it's BBC town.


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## Shirl (Mar 11, 2014)

The Boy said:


> Hebden bridge blatantly only gets a mention 'cos that's where the journo lives.


He lives in Stockport actually


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## The Boy (Mar 11, 2014)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Maybe right - I read somewhere that lots of the BBC staff when they were moved North moved there. So it's BBC town.



Yeah, same.  No idea where I read it though.


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## The Boy (Mar 11, 2014)

Shirl said:


> He lives in Stockport actually



Oh, you  and your facts.


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## The Boy (Mar 11, 2014)

BTW, Shirl. Is that your car in your avatar?


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## lazythursday (Mar 11, 2014)

People do tend to be very parochial, even in big cities like Manchester. Mancunians don't much think about Liverpool being an option for a night out or working, despite it being no further away than a tube ride across London - and Leeds is even more off the radar. Living somewhere like Calderdale does mean you can see the potential of an M62 corridor 'city'. The transport links are pretty bad though, improving gradually with some railway electrification, but I suspect to really make it work it would need massive investment - extra lines at bottlenecks, decent trains that aren't crappy Pacer style units long ago rejected as too shit for the south east and sent up here.


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## Shirl (Mar 11, 2014)

The Boy said:


> BTW, Shirl. Is that your car in your avatar?


I wish it was. I had one just like it about 20 years and I loved it. Unfortunately, it burst into flames one morning on the way to work 
I bought another one after that but it was a red one. I've also had an orange but the yellow and black is the most attractive one I think.
When I win the lottery I'll get another, to nip to the shops in so I don't have to park the Rolls in Hebden.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 11, 2014)

lazythursday said:


> People do tend to be very parochial, even in big cities like Manchester. Mancunians don't much think about Liverpool being an option for a night out or working, despite it being no further away than a tube ride across London - and Leeds is even more off the radar. Living somewhere like Calderdale does mean you can see the potential of an M62 corridor 'city'. The transport links are pretty bad though, improving gradually with some railway electrification, but I suspect to really make it work it would need massive investment - extra lines at bottlenecks, decent trains that aren't crappy Pacer style units long ago rejected as too shit for the south east and sent up here.


That's the crucial difference - Liverpool may be the equivalent of a tube journey across London, the transport network is a lot poorer. So it's just impractical with very careful planning. Plenty of people commute between the Northern cities but probably much less do so for leisure reasons. 

They should build maglev routes across the Northern belt as not only would it be great to connect the cities in at last but it would be cool. Imagine hurtling over the Pennines on a maglev at 300mph+ on a new viaduct.  

There'd have to be an interchange of course, so we'd probably have to bulldoze HB to build it. Sacrifices would have to be made Shirl.


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## The Boy (Mar 12, 2014)

Shirl said:


> I wish it was. I had one just like it about 20 years and I loved it. Unfortunately, it burst into flames one morning on the way to work
> I bought another one after that but it was a red one. I've also had an orange but the yellow and black is the most attractive one I think.
> When I win the lottery I'll get another, to nip to the shops in so I don't have to park the Rolls in Hebden.



Fair enough.  Was über-jealous for a bit.


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## alpha slappa (Mar 12, 2014)

Is Hebden Bridge around the train station still full of alcoholics and heroin addicts?


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## Voley (Mar 12, 2014)




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## lazythursday (Mar 12, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> Is Hebden Bridge around the train station still full of alcoholics and heroin addicts?



The Calder Valley did used to be pretty bad for heroin but it's either gone well underground or mostly disappeared. And the park in HB near the station does attract a few alkies, like most parks do, but less than a few years ago. Hebden is now pretty much unaffordable for anyone on a low income/benefits, I suspect most of the street drinkers / people with major mental health problems etc are now forcibly relocated down the valley to Sowerby Bridge / Halifax. The sort of people who made Hebden what it is certainly couldn't afford to move there now. Todmorden is probably closer to the original Hebden spirit, but it lacks decent pubs / venues etc.


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## Shirl (Mar 12, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> Is Hebden Bridge around the train station still full of alcoholics and heroin addicts?


No it isn't. I've lived here since 1990 apart from 3 years in Wales and I've not come across alcoholics and heroin addicts around the station apart from those who hold down full time jobs in Leeds and Manchester


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## Shirl (Mar 12, 2014)

lazythursday said:


> The Calder Valley did used to be pretty bad for heroin but it's either gone well underground or mostly disappeared. And the park in HB near the station does attract a few alkies, like most parks do, but less than a few years ago. Hebden is now pretty much unaffordable for anyone on a low income/benefits, I suspect most of the street drinkers / people with major mental health problems etc are now forcibly relocated down the valley to Sowerby Bridge / Halifax. The sort of people who made Hebden what it is certainly couldn't afford to move there now. Todmorden is probably closer to the original Hebden spirit, but it lacks decent pubs / venues etc.


Todmorden has the 3 Wise Monkeys which is owned by a friend of mine, it's brilliant and loads of people from Hebden as well as Todmorden go there. Andy Kershaw is in there most nights  Also, the other side of Tod on the way to Cornholme is the Staff of Life which was great years ago and seems to be getting really good again now.


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## alpha slappa (Mar 12, 2014)

Shirl said:


> No it isn't. I've lived here since 1990 apart from 3 years in Wales and I've not come across alcoholics and heroin addicts around the station apart from those who hold down full time jobs in Leeds and Manchester



Really? Every time I came to Hebden Bridge in the past the park near the train station was always full of alcoholics and heroin addicts.


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## Shirl (Mar 12, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> Really? Every time I came to Hebden Bridge in the past the park near the train station was always full of alcoholics and heroin addicts.


You must have been unlucky then, unless you'd gone there to score of course


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## alpha slappa (Mar 12, 2014)

Shirl said:


> You must have been unlucky then, unless you'd gone there to score of course



No, I stopped scoring smack 10+ years ago, although I still have the knack of being able to spot it and its users a mile off


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## Shirl (Mar 12, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> No, I stopped scoring smack 10+ years ago, although I still have the knack of being able to spot it and its users a mile off


obviously


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## susie12 (Mar 13, 2014)

I was there a couple of weeks ago and only saw hikers with rucksacks around the station car park - none in the park either as far as I could see.  It's just too twee for them these days.


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## Shirl (Mar 13, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> No, I stopped scoring smack 10+ years ago, although I still have the knack of being able to spot it and its users a mile off


So was alpha slappa firky?


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## moose (Mar 14, 2014)

lazythursday said:


> Mancunians don't much think about Liverpool being an option for a night out or working, despite it being no further away than a tube ride across London


It's got nothing to do with transport links


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