Rotorua Menz Shed struggles to find new home after building lease expires

CONCERNED: Rotorua Menz Shed board member Laurie Wilson is worried the group won't be able to find a new home. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

They make things for the community and provide a place of companionship and purpose for their members, but the board of Rotorua's Menz Shed is worried they will soon have to shut their doors permanently.

The group has been given a three-month reprieve, after they were initially told by Rotorua Lakes Council they would need to leave their Te Ngae Rd building by the end of February.

Rotorua Community Menz Shed Trust are leaseholders of the building and Literacy Rotorua, Autism Rotorua and the Jacob Willemsen Trust sub-lease parts of the premises.

Board member Laurie Wilson said there had been little communication from the council since they were told their lease was up.

They had been offered the use of a rugby clubrooms, but the facility was "totally inadequate" for what they needed, he said.

Space was required for the group's machinery, and with the clubrooms being two-storeyed, it would be difficult for the group's older members to get up and down the stairs, he said.

In a statement the council said it and the Menz Shed agreed in December the group would receive three months' notice before it needed to vacate the premises.

"We don't yet know when that will be as there has been no decision made as yet about the future of the property.

"In the meantime, council staff are keeping an eye out for any council properties that are becoming available and may fit the needs of the Menz Shed. So far we haven't identified anywhere."

Wilson said the group had between 50 and 60 members, who were feeling "not very good" about the situation.

"They're all sort of retired, this is the only sort of place that can help them through, for a lot of reasons.

"It's good for their health, both mentally and physically."

The work the group did for the community was "very important", he said.

With the group limited in the spaces they can set up in, they were worried they would have to shut up shop altogether.