Portsea Men's Shed finds new permanent home on site of former petrol station

For the past few years, the Portsea Men’s Shed has been looking for somewhere to establish a base of operations, after moving out of St George’s Church.

But with the help of Gunwharf Quays the group has now set up shop with a new shed in Wickham Street, just round the corner from the shopping outlet.

Chairman Andy Pottinger, a retired architect, said: ‘The team at Gunwharf Quays got in touch and said invited us to look at the space.

‘For us to find a permanent home like this is a huge relief. We have 15 regular members and we’ve all been working together to find a new space just like this.

‘Our firm friendship and camaraderie have kept us together during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the community has helped get us back on our feet. Now it’s time for us to repay their kindness.’

Having gone without a permanent home in so long, the group is looking to re-establish itself in the Portsea community and beyond.

The group is networking with community groups, organisations and individuals to get back to what it does best.

‘Because of coronavirus it’s been a long time since we got stuck into a proper project,’ said Andy.

‘We have been in touch with the Portsea Action group, which is looking for a larder to be built, and have spoken to the Portsea Event Group, which organises the annual carnival.

‘The D-Day Story Museum is also looking for some new benches to be built, so we’re taking that project on too. It’s nice to do things like this for the community – it keeps us busy and doing things we love.’

Due to Covid-19 restrictions the group is not yet operating at full capacity, but is always on the hunt for new members.

The Portsea Men’s Shed group meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

For those interested in joining, they can simply head down to the shed, located where the petrol station used to be, and find out more.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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