After years of looking, the Kiama Men’s Shed’s quest to secure a much needed new home is just a step away.

The October Council Meeting approved the change of zoning needed for it to lease the disused railway buildings at the bottom of Eddy Street from State Rail, for a peppercorn rent.

“We’ve been looking for other premises around town for a couple of years, and this is ideal as it meets all our criteria of having plenty of parking, a level site, access to public transport and being centrally located,” says the Shed’s President Ian Yabsley.

“Everyone has been very supportive, but it has taken time to get all the approvals.”

The group have been at their current location, at a house owned by the Uniting Church, for eight years but its size was a constraint even before COVID imposed more restrictions on utilising space.

“We’ll have much more room to spread our wings, with two workshops, some offices and a crib room,” says Ian.

The Kiama Men’s Shed currently has 60 members, 25 of whom are active, but Ian thinks the new premises will encourage more to get involved regularly.

“It will take us a while to get set up, but we are looking at welcoming new members into the Shed in 2022,” he says.

“Currently we focus on woodwork, but with the extra space we will be able to expand the facility to cater for more interests.”