Men in Sheds group needing permanent home after £10,000 windfall

A support group for men based in Castleford is looking for a permanent home after landing a £10,000 lottery grant.
Alex KearAlex Kear
Alex Kear

Men in Sheds is part of a growing network of groups to fight social isolation among males, giving them a chance to get together to carry out DIY and socialise at the same time.

Chairman of the Castleford group, Alex Kear said: “Although we are having a once-weekly session supported by Wakefield District Housing’s learning and development team, we are struggling to find a venue to set up full time.

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“Given the financial constraints we are working in, most of the grant is earmarked as capital to buy equipment and materials.

“What we are looking for is some workshop or warehouse space, perhaps there is a business out there that might have a spare unit that’s not in use or some warehouse space we can set up in.”

“We have looked at several commercial premises but all private rents of about £7,000 which we are trying to avoid because there are better ways to spend that amount of money. We are talking with a few community partners in the hope of securing premises as cheap as possible.

“It would be nice is we could work with a local business that has a separate space on their premises that is going unused and offered at a peppercorn rent. The social value this project can deliver is immense so the sooner we can deliver, the better.”

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Creations by the group, which started last year, included wooden stars and reindeer, which were sold at a Farmer Copleys crafts market.

Mr Kear said the sessions can be therapy without even making it seem as such.

He said: “If you’re just messing about with some wood it doesn’t seem like a big deal but before you know it you end up talking about your problems.”

Contact Mr Kear on [email protected] or 07490 131184.