'Offcumdens', hummus and valley bottom fever: What it's really like to live in Happy Valley
Matty Jeffreys is sat outside a cafe in Hebden Bridge pointing out the Airbnbs he used to clean. 'There's one up there,' he says pointing up a steep terraced street, 'two over the back of there,' he adds, sweeping his arm around.
"There are so many properties that are Airbnbs it makes it really hard to find a place to live," says Matty. "I don't think even five years down the line we could get our own place. It's so expensive I don't think we'll ever be able to afford it." Those new-comers are known locally as 'blow-ins' or 'offcumdens'. There's even a 'Hebden Bridge offcumdens' Facebook page with almost 3,000 members, set up to 'provide a safe and friendly space where there is no abuse towards perceived 'Offcumdens'.
"People have to go on the bus to Mytholmroyd. Not everyone has a washer and a drier. The launderette is now a men's clothes shop. Two of her friends are 'facing eviction' from their rented homes, she said, as their landlords want to sell their properties to make money. Asked about the class divide, Helen, from Huddersfield, said: "There is snobbery...they can look down their nose at you. I have heard people say 'I have put better stuff in a skip'."
"We're seeing a lot of people who normally wouldn't want help, but now need it. It's a small town, but there are a lot of isolated people and I think it can go unnoticed." But, despite the rising house prices, Molly says the 'offcumdens' have only added to life in the town. "There's no tension [between locals and new-comers]," she says. "It's great for businesses and it's really interesting meeting new people from all over the country. "It's a positive thing."
Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Play now But Matty Jeffreys, who is looking for work, having recently left his job at town centre pub, says Hebden only faces the same issues many other towns do. "There are drugs," he said. Kate Henderson, 45, is one of those who has made a life in Hebden. Her business The Tonic, which sells CBD products, is a stone’s throw from 'Catherine’s house', on Hangingroyd Lane. From their base, a top floor studio in one of the town’s former mills, she has enjoyed a ringside seat for the filming.
"It's become normal," she says. "At one point there were police cars outside. My daughter woke up and said, 'What’s happening?' We said, 'Don't worry, it's just Happy Valley'.
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