The proposed Westbury Men’s Shed has been allocated a building in the Meander Valley Council Depot in Westbury and members hope to move in by the end of the year.

Spokesman Paul Kilroy said the building is in the depot on the corner of Franklin and King Streets. The group’s first project is to divide the building and fit it out.

‘We were to use space at the back of the Westbury Health Centre but it wasn’t viable because of the huge response to men’s shed proposal,’ he said.

‘Around 35 men have signed on to be members of the organisation and locals have signed up to be on the committee to make the shed happen.

‘Word has got around the town, which is great because it’s worth doing to get it up and running.’

The Men’s Shed group has submitted a planning application to the Meander Valley Council for the change of use.

Work needing to be done to make the building habitable includes installing partitions, a toilet and a tearoom.

‘Meander Valley Council has been very supportive in giving us a two-year lease on the building,’ Mr Kilroy said.

‘Initially Westbury health came up with the idea, then Lions, Rotary and other community members got together to make it happen.’

The activities of the shed remain shrouded in mystery; Mr Kilroy doesn’t want to be too specific about what the men will get up to inside it.

‘People tend to associate men’s sheds with woodwork but people get up to all sorts of things inside them,’ Mr Kilroy said.

‘We’ll wait to see what the local preferences are. The most important thing is for men to be able to gather there.’