Shed finds home

The Joondalup Men’s Shed celebrated the official opening of their new permanent premises at 17 Winton Road, Joondalup with a special ceremony on Saturday 29 May.

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob cut a ribbon to mark the occasion, bringing an end to the Joondalup Men’s Shed’s decade-long search for a home base.

The Joondalup Men’s Shed was established in 2010, and was located at the former Padbury Senior High School manual arts building under a lease arrangement with the Department of Education.

However, with that agreement expiring in 2019, the City worked closely with Joondalup Men’s Shed to try and identify a suitable location for a new home.

Prior to the decision of the Joondalup Council to proceed with the Winton Road site, the City investigated dozens of options, with three of those progressing to a feasibility and concept design phase.

In a unanimous decision of the Council at its December 2018 meeting, it was determined that the most suitable location was the City’s building maintenance depot at 17 Winton Road.

Council’s decision also meant that extension works were required at the City’s main Works Operations Centre in Craigie to accommodate the relocation of staff and centralisation of operational activities.

Significant refurbishment and power upgrades were required for the Winton Road site to meet the current and future needs of Joondalup Men’s Shed.

The City invested $1.23 million over four years to the project, and the Joondalup Men’s Shed also contributed $168,000 to help bring it to fruition.

Mayor Jacob said with a lease now in place, Joondalup Men’s Shed has certainty and capacity to grow its membership and future sustainability.

“The City and the Joondalup Men’s Shed have long enjoyed an excellent working relationship and we look forward to this continuing into the future,” he said.

“An important aspect of the Men’s Shed movement, beyond the amazing work they do within the workshop environment, is the social interaction and support of its members.

“The inclusion of a large social room space in the new premises has been a great outcome to help support this important function of the group.

“I also congratulate the City’s Asset Management Team for their diligence in delivering this significant project and they should be very proud of their involvement.”

Joondalup Men’s Shed President Reg Luther thanked the City for delivering its commitment to establish a new home for JMS.

“Our motto of ‘Blokes building better Communities’ could never have been realised without a home and a commitment from the City of Joondalup to participate in the community services for the overall betterment of the ‘men’ in the community,” Mr Luther said.

“The JMS provides a ‘shed away from their shed’ for men of all ethnic, professional and diverse backgrounds and takes advantage of the collective wisdom of our members.

“It is truly inspiring to see the creative expertise of our members and this new home will give us the capacity to expand and share our talents.

“Our gratitude also to the team assigned for the project upgrade. They have excelled in their contributions and guided us with sound advice.”