Since before the pandemic, we have loved the idea of setting up a Community Shed. This would be a place where people could come to make and mend things in the company of others, have interesting conversations and drink tea!

Our early plans to occupy the former Post Office in Newton Abbot’s Market Square became impractical due to soaring post-Covid costs. However the group of enthusiasts which was helping to plan it set about creating a smaller, community-led organisation to make it happen somewhere else.

The result was Newton Abbot Community Shed (NACS for short), which meets four times a week in a room in the courtyard of Newton Abbot Library. True to its original vision, NACS welcomes men and women of all ages (at the moment the youngest is 22, the oldest 91!) and practical abilities. There is always help at hand; several members have never used tools before, but have quickly started to experience the huge satisfaction of making an item from scratch.

If you or someone you know would like to find out more about becoming a Shedder or a volunteer, put your head round the door of Room C1 at the library on a Monday, Friday or Saturday morning (9.30 to 12.30) or a Friday afternoon (1.00 to 4.00) to see what it’s all about!