Orkney charities welcome Council backing for new “community hub”

An exciting new “community hub” development in the West Mainland – which will help secure the future of three charities in Orkney – got the backing of Councillors on Tuesday 5 October.

A request was made to the Council by the Orkney Men’s Shed, Stromness Drama Club and the Orkney Historic Boat Society to lease the former Herring Factory building at Garson Industrial Estate, Stromness which has sat vacant since 2012.

Councillors viewed the proposal before the Asset Management Sub-committee on Tuesday agreeing that the unit, which has generated no rental income and incurred annual property costs to the Council of more than £36,000, should be offered for a peppercorn rent on a ten-year lease, with a five-year break clause built in.

The Council’s Head of Executive Support, Karen Greaves, said an earlier attempt to sell the property on the open market had been unsuccessful.

“This is quite a new proposal; a pilot development if you like for a community hub in the West Mainland housing three charitable organisations, all of which provide a wide range of community benefits to the wider community.”

The Council will also undertake the necessary alterations and repairs to make the building fit for purpose, at an estimated cost of £35,000, to be funded from the annual corporate asset improvement and maintenance programmes and be responsible onwards for keeping the building wind and watertight.

Morgan Harcus, from the Orkney Men’s Shed, said he was delighted with the news.

“At last, we have some good news. There is quite a lot to be done by the Council but we are hopeful to be in before the end of the year. We would like to have our new workshop up and running at the turn of the year. So guys time to look out the flat caps, bib and brace/boilersuits and get the chisels and plane irons sharpened ready to go. We must thank the Council’s interim Chief Executive John Mundell, Mrs Karen Greaves, Elected Members of the Council, in particular, Councillor James Stockan, and others who helped in any way to get us back in a Shed so that our charity can get back to promoting men’s health and wellbeing. The peppercorn rent will also allow us to pass on any surplus funds we do raise to other charities.”

Internationally, Men’s Sheds are “meeting and doing places” for men who want to meet new folk, make new friends, learn new skills, and generally have a blether and an improved life. The movement is nationally recognised for all the good work that they do in helping to improve quality of life, both physically and mentally, for the men in their community.

The local group has provided valuable services to the community with projects that have included the new shed at The Blue Door, outdoor musical equipment for Glaitness School, developing outdoor space at Firth School, livestock signs for the County Show park, bicycle sheds for schools, bus stops — amongst many others. But more importantly, delivery of these projects has provided invaluable support to the individual members in being part of these practical projects and this element of the group’s activities is not possible without suitable premises.

Mike Partridge, from the Stromness Drama Club, said: “This is very exciting for us as it not only gives us better storage space for our props and materials, a larger area for preparing and making larger scenery items, but also provides a dedicated area for our rehearsals. We are hopeful this will make it feasible to start up a youth drama group. We are also looking forward to sharing with the other users and complementing each other within a premises at the heart of the community.”

The Orkney Historic Boat Society (OHBS) is currently progressing plans to establish a boat museum at another site however they require additional sufficient storage and workshop space to look after all the boats in their care and envisage using this space for the storage of some of the Society’s boats, related maritime artefacts and tools.

A spokesman said: “OHBS are extremely happy that this community hub is being established in the West Mainland which will enable us to secure much needed storage space and establish facilities to carry out restoration work on some of the significant Orkney heritage boats that have been donated to us since our formation in 2014. We are extremely grateful to a number of people who have allowed us to store our collection in their sheds over the years.

“We will now have premises where we can store significant elements of Orkney’s maritime heritage and establish a dedicated space for restoration work and sharing traditional wooden boat maintenance and restoration techniques.”

Council Leader and Stromness and South Isles Councillor James Stockan has been working alongside the organisations to help realise their ambitions. He said: “This shows that the Council can react quickly in response to community need. The membership of the Council and officials came together to deliver something really quite special here and I feel this bodes well for the future of local charities.”

Supporting the request, Sub-committee Chair Councillor Leslie Manson said: “I am delighted that not only are we divesting ourselves of a building that has been standing empty, but much more importantly we are breathing new life into three very meritorious organisations whose charitable activities undoubtedly contribute to, and have been evidenced to promote, the improvement of health and social wellbeing, cultural heritage and involvement of our young people – this is what Orkney is all about.

“Moving forward, we will consider each case on its merits – there is no doubt in my mind that this request deserves a positive outcome.”