Petersfield Men's Shed

The management committee would like to invite you to a live online Zoom meeting to hear about the work we have been doing over the past 18 months to create a Men’s Shed here in Petersfield.

You will meet the committee members who will explain the developments that have taken place and more importantly the type of men’s shed and the projects we have planned.

Gerry Johnson the UK Men’s Sheds Association Ambassador and Chair of Hayling Island Men’s Shed will present an overview of local and national men’s sheds.

We will be using the Zoom chat function for you to ask questions as discussions are taking place and hopefully there will be an opportunity for some of these to be answered at the meeting. We will also be recording the meeting so that we can answer all questions and feedback the answers on our website.

Anyone who is interested in joining the meeting please contact us. We will then email you a Zoom link invite before the meeting that will enable you to join us for the meeting on Tuesday, 27 July from 6:00 PM so that we can start prompt at 6.30PM.

I and the team look forward to meeting you then.

Steven Watts, Chairman

We are building a community space for men to connect, converse and create.

I cannot believe it is now over a year since we launched Petersfield Men’s Shed! However, whilst the management team have been very busy setting everything up, due to the pandemic restrictions, we have yet to find a permanent premises, start proper meetings or accept members. But hopefully, from July and the end of restrictions, that is all about to change.

What have we done;

• We have become a charity
• We have gained some funding from generous sponsors
• We are currently in discussions to lease an excellent premises in the centre of Town
• We have a web site and Facebook page
• We have received over 100 expressions of interest to become members
• We are currently surveying what practical skills and interests potential members have
• We have all the necessary policies, procedures, and insurances in place

What’s next;

Saturday July 3^rd July – 9am to 3pm – Market, Petersfield Square

Come, meet, and chat to members of the management team and see if Petersfield Men’s Shed is for you.

Tuesday 27^th July – 7.30pm – Zoom Open Meeting

Open forum with short presentations from the management team and guests, Q&A (using Chat facility), and hopefully your inputs.

Future;

Obviously, we would rather launch with our premises, but in the meantime, if the restrictions continue to ease, we feel we should start to enrol members anyway, meet in temporary venues and start working on small local projects. So do please come and meet us and let’s get Petersfield Men’s Shed going, together.

Steven Watts, Chairman

What with more Covid lockdowns and a new virus strain, unfortunately all our plans for a proper “face to face” launch meeting this year have again had to be postponed. It will happen, now probably in Spring 2021 even if we have a digital version via Zoom or similar. Everyone who has already expressed interest in joining us will be invited and a media campaign will run to promote it to other potential members. Please keep an eye on the news and further web site updates.

With regards premises, we may have some very exciting news early in the new year! We are currently in discussions to lease a building in the Town centre; all on one level with lots of usable space. It will need work to convert to workshops and social space but would be a fabulous first real project together as a Shed.

In October, we were delighted to have been awarded Grant funding for the initial equipment to kit out a Shed workshop from East Hampshire District Council; our thanks go to Cllr Robert Mocatta for his support for our development.

The management team are now working on an application for the Petersfield Men’s Shed to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Becoming a charity will not only have local and social benefits but will help us financially with potential funding opportunities.

As you can see, in spite of Covid, Petersfield Men’s Shed is very much alive and we look forward to 2021 and becoming a proper functioning Shed.

Steven Watts

Chairman

We now have a page on the East Hampshire Community Lottery website. Click here to buy a ticket and support us.

We receive 50p for every £1 spent. Any money raised will be used to develop our Shed and support local men (and women) and community projects.

Thank you for your support and good luck!

We have created a Facebook group for Petersfield Men’s Shed. It’s a place where you can ask questions, find out more and discuss ideas. If you are a member of Facebook, then you can find it here.

Please have a look and join the group if you are interested in what we are doing.

June 2020, saw the new committee of Petersfield Men’s Shed, make contact with the already well-established Hayling Island Men’s Shed Association. Our objective was to gain a better understanding of how other shed associations in our region had approached securing suitable premises, from where they could delivery regular activities.

We were welcomed by Roger Davies, Chair of the Hayling Island Shed, who very kindly invited our committee down to their new coastal HQ for a fact finding visit, of course following all of the appropriate UK government guideline on social distancing.

They opted for a purpose made composite metal structure which was erected by professional contractors, with the majority of the internally finishing and fit out completed through the hard work and commitment of their members.

It was not all plain sailing, with ongoing negotiations required with their new landlord (the local church) throughout the build process and the potential of unexpected spiralling costs associated with connecting the new facility to mains power. However, following a team effort, some hard work and commitment they got there, with the new facility scheduled for opening in March 2020…… but then COVID-19 happened.  

Learning Points

• Setting up as a registered charity (CIO) is of great benefit when it comes to raising funds and sponsorship from Trusts and Charitable Foundations.

• Having regular member meetings during the planning stages, really helps to shape the vision and also develops contacts within the local community which can lead to ‘in kind’ support of various types.

• A clear project plan for your build is essential and working to an agreed project timeline under the guidance of a Project Board can help to keep things on track and avoid any unexpected pitfalls.

• Finding premises with utilities and services already in place can be a great advantage and avoid unnecessary project costs.

• Think about sound proofing, sheds can generate quite a lot of noise, so it is good to consider this as a part of your construction or refit, so that you can specify in appropriate noise reduction measures to keep neighbours on side.

• Build your supporter base, you never know what additional support could be offered from the community, including a venue, technical skills or donations.