Following a successful public meeting to gauge support, facilitated by the Rotary Club of Aboyne and Upper Deeside, a committee of local volunteers was set up, with responsibilities allocated, and the Aboyne and District Men’s Shed (AMS) was formally constituted on June 9th, 2016.

An immediate priority was to establish OSCR registration, and this was achieved in December 2016, and its first AGM was held on Monday 21st August 2017, attended by Jason Schroeder of the SMSA. The subsequent strategic and inter-connected activities were to:

1) continue with the engagement and involvement of the local community which was seen as pivotal to fund-raising and the fundamental viability, indeed the raison d’être of the entire undertaking:

2) research all potential local location options

3) explore a wide range of funding opportunities

4) establish contact with support organisations including the SMSA, Age Scotland and the Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action (AVA). After exploring a number of limited local possibilities for use of an existing building, it was decided that none was satisfactory. This decision essentially changed the nature and scale of the project, as the alternative was to aim for a new-build which would create a Men’s Shed as the core feature of a Community Facility. The project deliverable therefore become the Aboyne Community Shed (ACS), the first public building constructed in Aboyne since the 1970’s, additive to but not replacing or in opposition to existing community facilities. The AMS is the owner and legal entity of the ACS building. The AMS’s workshop is at the root of its existence.

The challenges became:

1) to find the land on which to build and which we could access in conversations with a local landowner

2) to engage with local architect expertise

3) to secure funding for what would in essence and remarkably, turn out to be a £400K build

Individually, each of these items were far from insignificant. But taken together they constituted a major challenge; one made even more demanding given that we were committed to keeping our local support aligned and engaged throughout what became a 5 year-period. Resilience and determination were vital to our cause.

Through local contacts we were eventually able to secure long-term rental of land on very manageable terms. A local architect’s firm were extremely generous with their advice and time, supplementing the wide range of skills and technical background existing within the AMS Trustees and broader community. After a lengthy and demanding application process, we were successful in securing significant funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural development. Although this only provided part of the funds required, this provided the base from which we were able to apply successfully to a wide range of local and national funding bodies.

A local construction Company was employed following detailed contractual discussions, building work commenced and we took formal ownership of the Community Shed in July, 2021. Work is well underway to kit out the workshop with a wide range of tools and equipment being locally donated and sourced. The Shed is already being used by a wide range of community groups securing income which already matches operational outgoings. The building is seen as a wonderful community resource, its design is being praised for blending excellently with its natural surroundings, and, with its EPC (A) rating, it enjoys a first-class green footprint and profile.

Achievements

The major achievement has been to secure formal ownership of our building and to have done so within budget; and to have achieved these at a time of significant external operational constraints (see below).

Meeting the reporting requirements of our major funders was demanding and time consuming, but the level of due diligence required paid dividends, enhancing our reputation as we sought additional funding contacts. Completing the physical construction of the building involved a number of complex technical challenges: for example, the provision of power, the supply of water, the commitment to a green agenda, safe access and egress for a range of physical capabilities, and fire and safety provision. In all of these areas the technical skills and experience of the Trustees, supported in many instances by the local community (see below) proved critical.

Our project has been 5 years in the planning, gestation, and delivery. Given the scale of the enterprise, commensurate funding of course did not fall into our laps: throughout, it had to be fought for, in an increasingly competitive environment. The Covid outbreak (see below) clearly impacted our planning schedules. In short this became not just a Big Project. But a Long One. That reality sets the context for what could have become a significant challenge: maintaining at a high and productive level the morale of the Trustee team and the confident, sustained support of the community. Absent both or either of these, the outcome of the project could have been very difficult, indeed, very different. Obviously as we progressed, through the five years, with the draining delays, the long lockdown, the inevitable fight for funds, there were occasional bumps in the road and wrinkles in the carpet. But that is the point. We progressed. We did not stop. We did not pack it all in. We kept on keeping on as a Trustee team. We kept on keeping on with our community. It was not always easy. But we think, indeed we are sure, and without boasting, indeed with humility, it is one we ourselves consider a major achievement. Ongoing support and belief in the community for what we were doing was key to much of that.

Challenges

Lockdown severely impacted the delivery schedule of the major contractor and also the sub-contractors on the project. For several months, the build was at a complete standstill. Even when lockdown ended, the Shed faced a shortage of supplies and competition for manpower. Even securing signed-off documentation understandably proved problematic and time-consuming.

The Shed’s response to this was not to sit and simply wait for permission to start up again, but to begin the detailed preparation for the safe and efficient operation of the workshop. An Operations Sub-Committee chaired by an expert supporter from the local community, was set up to put in place key procedures and arrangements such as those relating to health and safety, effective supervision, and competence. This meant that when the Shed was given the green light, there was much in place. The Shed also arranged, in partnership with the local authority, to have access to a large shed in the village in which to store items donated for the workshop.

All of this underscored the ongoing engagement with the local community. Everything could have stopped. But far from that, the Shedders used the construction downtime to increase communications by:

1) building and updating the Shed website and Facebook page

2) regular emails

3) providing articles for local newspapers and magazines

3) conducting periodic Zoom meetings with potential Shed users.

A key benefit of this activity was that morale was kept high not only amongst Trustees but in the wider support community. Able to demonstrate progress and action, and commitment to succeed, the Shed was able to identify and enrol individuals other than the Trustees to take on important positions within the Shed, particularly with regard to designing the layout of the workshop. They were fortunate in that one of their newly appointed Trustees had a professional background in health and environmental hygiene so that their start-up was and is conducted to a very high level, which is a critical point and one complimented on by the Shed users.

Already at the workshop, for example, small projects have been undertaken – a ramp for a “cartie” race at a local car show, for example; and the repair of a local mountain hut- and this will be ramped up as an income stream, though emphatically not in a way that threatens the livelihoods of local tradesmen.

There can be no doubt that Covid restrictions also impacted not only the physical construction of the building, its services and track access, but access to financial support. Funding bodies inevitably found themselves being approached by growing numbers of organizations. Competition for cash, in effect, increased. We had from the outset recognised the financial element as a pivotal area of the project and were fortunate to have skills and experience within the Trustee team to adapt speedily to this increasingly competitive market.

One of the aims with the building design was to minimise capital and ongoing costs. This required some imaginative thinking:

1) Electrical Power Supply – the Shed is on a greenfield site in a disused quarry. Getting power to the site was going to be expensive. After some discussions with the local electricity company, the Shed was able to take a three-phase supply from a substation on the same side of the road and railway line to the site, but there was a wood in the way. After discussions with the landowner, they were able to trench out a route on the edge of the woodland – a long run, but avoiding the difficulty of routing under a road and over or under a railway cutting.

2) Solar power – the roof was large enough to install 12kW of solar panels and the Shed was also able to successfully apply for a feed-in tariff – giving a further steady income stream.

3) Insulation – in agreement with the architect, more insulation was installed than required by the building regulations – helping to achieve an EPC rating of “A”. Not quite “net zero”, but very close!

4) Heating – The Shed has installed four air source heat pumps. These are the type that blow warm air into each space. This saved the cost of underfloor heat transfer pipes. These units also warm up the spaces much more quickly – useful for a public building that is not continuously occupied. Each heat pump produces heat at a ratio of about 4kW of heat for each 1kW of electricity, some of which will be provided by the solar panels on the roof. Although, they have not been through a winter yet, the running costs so far have been very encouraging.

5) Water – Laying a tie-in to the water main was going to be very costly. The route would have been the same as the already discounted route for the electricity, except even worse – the water main was on the wrong side of the A93 main road. The amount we would have had to pay to get a temporary traffic light system, and to dig up and reinstate the main road, would have been impossible for us. Our solution was to ask our local water diviner to find a well for us, for a private water supply. A potential well was discovered within 100 yards. The well was dug, the line trenched and an electrical supply for the pump installed, all for a fraction of the price of the mains tie-in. We now have a small treatment plant in a corner of the workshop which will need an annual service – but that is something we can do ourselves for the price of the purification chemicals; and no mains water bills

6) Telephone and broadband – We have bought and installed a 4g router and outside aerial. This provides broadband throughout the building, saving the cost of a landline. A VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone wired into the router provides our telephone service. This set-up is still being evaluated. Time will tell if this has the bandwidth and reliability that we need.

Impact

From its initial inception, in 2016, the Trustees have positioned this as a community project delivering community benefits. In our initial documentation, for example, we specifically saw the project as materially helping address a real challenge in our area: men increasingly on their own, and struggling, and rural isolation. The Shed was positioned and seen as a place where they would be welcome and could practice and share their skills and learn new ones, in a friendly and welcoming environment. The reason that we deliberately installed a well-equipped modern kitchen upstairs in the shed was to run cooking classes for men who might have struggled with this, to the detriment of their health. Good company in relaxed surroundings for those for whom this might have been problematic, we saw a real benefit of what we were doing.

The response from the Community has been heart-warming and has made worthwhile the trials of the past. We have 68 signed-Members of the Shed. Not all are active yet; but our hope and plan is that as we move forward- with the installation of a word-burning stove in the workshop as a key next step, making the social area more welcoming- is that more folk will come along and get involved. It might not happen in a day. But it will happen, we are confident of that.

Another crucial dimension of this is that local people have been incredibly generous to us. This is demonstrated in the generous gifts and loans we have received by a number of local individuals, together with insights on best-practice, for example on workshop lay-out. Secondly, many local tradesmen and farmers have given freely of their time, skills and equipment at crucial stages of the construction: without these we simply could not have proceeded. We are planning more open days for visiting groups and we are also planning a formal Opening Day, to which these very important local supporters and contributors in cash and/or kind will be honoured guests.

Finally, it is clear that the local architects for the project have designed a building which is already receiving plaudits from the public. A number of compliments have been paid as to how attractive it looks and how well it blends with the local, natural environment. And our link with the public goes beyond compliments, most welcome as these are. We are in operation. All of the hard work which we undertook before start-up in contacting community groups and spreading the message of what we have to offer has paid off handsomely: already 7 community groups are using the building, in addition to the Men’s Shed. These include local groups for Yoga, an art and craft project, Pilates, Forget me Not (for Dementia sufferers), Clan cancer, a local Pipe Band chanter tuition group, and Mid Deeside Community Trust.

Leading Light

From the outset of the project, the Shed has sought the input of Shedders from other Sheds to get underway. This included a visit in the early days to Westhill & District Men’s Shed, where big learning points were around Health and Safety procedures and documentation. That visit also opened their eyes to the kind of projects that the Shed could provide for the community (e.g., the repair of gardening equipment) without impacting local trades people. The visit was clearly an important moment in the development of ideas for Aboyne, and it triggered a commitment to regular visits, formal and informal.

AMS has subsequently visited Sheds in Inchmarlo, Aberchirder, Banchory, and Stonehaven and Sheds as far away as in New Zealand. Most recently, they visited St. Andrews Men’s Shed, where we were struck by what can be achieved with enthusiasm and drive even in relatively constrained circumstances. Unfailingly, every visit has meant new lessons learnt as to what works well and what, perhaps, less well: what are the must-haves and what are the nice- to -haves. Perhaps just as important as the information and tip-offs about available equipment are the informal friendship and networks in the Shedding community which these visits have helped develop. Issues and challenges which they had thought unique to their own project were in many cases found to be shared in common; as indeed were many of the solutions.

Going Above and Beyond

At the time of designing the new building, the Trustees were also evaluating the demographics for the local area as a requirement for some funding applications. They were able to confirm that the population was now twice what it had been over forty years previously, and there had been no new recreational buildings made available over that time. It was at this time that we decided that the new building would provide not just a Men’s shed workshop and tea point – but would go above and beyond to provide further spaces for arts, crafts, exercise groups and so on. This also benefits the Men’s Shed, as during the currently three AMS sessions a week, AMS has access to the whole building (workshop, arts and crafts room, social area, kitchen, office).

Staying Connected During the Pandemic

1) Zoom sessions to update everyone on progress, a regular electronic newsletter, and website and Facebook updates.

2) Manning a stall at the local Farmers’ Market

3) Involving members in the workshop layout – this included socially distanced visits to the workshop – we had gained access to the workshop for this purpose before we took over the building from the Contractor.

4) Involving members in inspecting donated second-hand machines for later renovation

5) Involving members in inspecting and approving second hand electrical equipment.

6) Creation of an Operating Committee, appointing Workshop Supervisors.

Future Plans

The Shed has only been open for a few weeks. The groups who use the Shed, in addition to AMS, are providing a useful source of income to keep the building going. Running costs and income will be monitored closely, particularly over the winter months. The Shed also plans to carry out a cost/benefits study on the possibility of adding batteries to the 12kW solar PV system to reduce energy costs further.