By Derek Schlennstedt
The Belgrave Men’s Shed is stuck between a rock and a small space.
Since moving from Selby to Belgrave in 2014, the Belgrave Men’s Shed has expanded from nine members to almost 30.
But, the small shed located near the Belgrave Oval has not increased to match the membership size.
Belgrave Men’s shed president, Dave Ashton, said the increase means only a few people can work in the shed at any one time.
“We now have 27 members, with about 4 more people wanting to come on board … we’re just absolutely jam-packed,” Mr Ashton said.
“This building is probably suitable for about a dozen people.
“You can’t really have 27 members at the same time; you have four to five people working and everyone else is sitting around the table, chewing the fat.”
Currently the Men’s shed runs every Wednesday and Saturday from 9:30am to midday.
One option available to the Men’s Shed is to increase the number of open days they offer, though, Mr Ashton said this requires the availability of first aid and safety officers.
“If people have an interest in other days we’ll look at setting up other days, but we have to have a safety officer and first aid officer, so if we have another day we need to ensure those people are available too,” he said.
According to Mr Ashton renovating the current building is not a viable option due to the vicinity of the shed to the Belgrave football oval and a nearby playground.
Despite their size, the shed is involved in many community programs and helps local groups by building items for them at a low cost.
AS a result they also receive a number of inquiries from local schools and groups, keen on utilising the space.
However, Mr Ashton said they just cannot offer anything due to space and safety.
“We’ve had requests from female groups if we can help with a she shed and we said ‘we will, but we can’t at the moment because of the space.”
Director of Social and Economic Development at Yarra Ranges Council, Ali Wastie said that Council is working closely with the Men’s shed to find a suitable location.
“Lyster Ward Councillor Mike Clarke and Council officers are working with the Belgrave Men’s Shed to re-establish their activities at a different location in Belgrave … Council and the State Government are currently assessing avenues through which this could occur.”
One suggestion for a new home has been the Belgrave South Community House, which Mr Ashton said would be “perfect” to run the Men’s Shed from.
However, the building is due for demolition and Council said it was ‘out-dated and no longer fit for purpose or relocation.’
