Community workshop in left-behind Kingswood and Hazel Leys area set to open to public soon

The brand new community led and voluntary run KHL Community Workshop is nearly ready to open to the public.

The workshop is situated in Gainsborough Road, next to Woodsend Bowls Club, and is a creative driven space for everyone in the community to enjoy.

On site there is access to a range of creative tools in the woodwork shop and art studio, including a 3D printer, a laser cutter, a CNC router, a photography dark room and more.

Six masterclasses have been funded by Creative Kingswood and Hazel Leys which will be programmed soon.

They also have a membership programme that people can join up to that will be announced shortly, however if you cannot afford it, you will not be excluded.

George Hill, Chair of KHL Big Local said: “ If somebody comes here and they can’t afford it, we will not exclude them.

“This is about inclusion, especially where we live, Kingswood and Hazel Leys, and many other places across the islands, people are facing financial challenges.

“We want to encourage people to come along and they don’t have to be involved in classes, they can maybe just come and have a cup of tea, sit in the garden and have a bit of time because isolation is a big challenge within our communities.“

The idea for the workshop started about five years ago when George Hill and Brian Dunn, who recently passed away, had a conversation about sheds.

George said: “We both had sheds. I’ve got a shed in my garden, Brian had a shed in his garden. We liked doing a bit of woodwork, some art, Brian was really into tech stuff. We were both part of KHL big local and we wondered if we could get a shed.”

Their idea was based around the idea of Men’s Shed, a movement that started in Australia, that was for older men, that became a thing in many countries and communities.

But for Brian and George, they wanted to include everyone.

“One of the things from the get go was that Brian and I knew it wasn’t for men, it was for everyone because community organisations are about inclusion. We’re really mindful of that. People should feel welcomed and included, and we should make it as diverse as our community is.”

From there, their next steps were to get some funding as well as time and resources, which they got from many people and organisations including: KHL Big Local, Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Community Foundation, Creative Civic Change and Corby Borough Council.

After funding was secured, it was onto the build.

“Then we started the build, got planning permissions, got equipment, had to do land surveys, lots and lots of stuff that Brian was leading from the front, he was there every day, he was on the emails, he was on the phones.

“He did other stuff as well, he was here, he was opening up, he was liaising with builders, suppliers, the clerk of works, he was doing all the checks with the council. If somebody needed clarification or access, Brian was your man, Brian was on it.”

The workshop is now gradually opening and you can stay updated on their Facebook Page.