Men's groups

In May 2023, after its public launch in April, members gathered on the land. These photos show the land, and us starting to clear the spot we'd chosen as the site of our shed.

Meeting weekly at The Land, Denmark Road

email info@northlowestoftmensshed.org

North Lowestoft Men's Shed needs a shed.

We don't care what sort of state it's in. We will happily restore a structurally good building.  A place that's in need of help suits us down to the ground.

Ideally it should be big enough to house a workshop, have some storage space and preferably some outside space, with parking or parking nearby. 

We're north of Lake Lothing, so in the north.

Sheds can be anything the members want them to be, but a shed offers a meeting place where like-minded people can meet up, share worries, pleasures and ideas.

Usually, but not exclusively, the members are retired men and possibly feeling a little isolated. They are about having fun, sharing skills and knowledge, about having a renewed sense of purpose and belonging, without the need to feel any pressure.

A Shed is about filling needs, creating a community and maybe about helping others as well

North Lowestoft Men's Shed actually started way back in 2019. Inspired by Pakefield Men's Shed, which we visited in Autumn 2019, we set about looking for premises. We met with community officers at East Suffolk Council, with Peter Aldous MP, and with local property owners and estate agents. We looked at many possibilities, managing to track down the owner of a shed who now lived many miles away, we talked with BirdsEye, with Network Rail. And much of that is still happening.

We had decided to go public, as it were, and along came Covid-19.

The first rule of Dad Club?  Tell any dads/partners/step-parents about it!

Being a father and supporting a birth parent is very rewarding but also very challenging.

Come and join the team to talk parenting. Share some experiences and what works for you.

John Ellerby – Chair

Joe Thompson – Secretary

Phil Lacey – Treasurer

email: info@northlowestoftmensshed.org 

Meeting weekly on site at Denmark Road (near junction with Trafalgar Street)

The Community Rail Partnership (CRP) and Lowestoft Central Project (LCP) have secured funding for the three surveys required – asbestos, structural and electrical. We're just waiting to get the go-ahead from Network Rail to unleash the surveyors.  

We're hoping to be able to use and renovate the unoccupied former Great Eastern Railway Stables building on Denmark Rd.

Once the surveys have been completed, we'll know – finally – where we stand...

North Lowestoft Men's Shed has finally begun turning a dream into reality. Not quite the reality we expected, but nevertheless a huge stride towards our final goal.

Within a couple of months, we hope to be staring out from the door of a container at a piece of land we can transform into a community garden or wildlife garden, wondering how we're going to do it!

The area is the piece of scrubland betwixt Lowestoft Station car park and our ultimate goal, the building next to the signal box in Denmark Road.

[First published around January 2023, edited for historical accuracy of photo 12/11/2023]

We're still in mid-stride!

The three surveys of the building in Denmark Road that we have been waiting for have been given the OK to go ahead. So let's hope they are done nice and quickly, as the results – asbestos, electrical, structural – will decide whether we will be able to continue our journey.