Story of the Shed

May 2017: Consultation with the local community leads wellbeing@garonpark to make delivery of the Garon Park Shed the inaugural project. Planning begins.

December 2018: Having worked out our approach and costs, wellbeing@garonpark submits a grant bid to the National Lottery Awards For All scheme.

February 2019: National Lottery awards wellbeing@garonpark £9,950

March 2019: To ensure value for money, we look for a suitable second-hand modular building and eventually locate one in York! We negotiate a price and plan for delivery.

May 2019: The modular buildings that will make up the shed are delivered and hoisted into position. We hold our breath as the buildings skirt over the trees onto the foundations!

August 2019: The time consuming process of fitting out the shed starts. Construction of workbenches and storage gets underway with support from a dedicated band of volunteers.

November 2019: wellbeing@garonpark secures funding from Southend Borough Council for a wheelchair access ramp to the shed and purchase a height adjustable workbench, heavy duty dust extraction equipment and a planer thicknesser.

January 2020: After weeks of very hard work by many volunteers, the Garon Park Shed opens. wellbeing@garonpark has its first project in place and available for use by the local Southend community.

April 2022: Official Opening of the Garon Park Shed by Southend Mayor, The Worshipful Margaret Borton

November 2022: Official opening of the Garon Park StoryTelling Chair by Southend Mayor, The Worshipful Cllr Kevin Robinson