Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed members would never claim to rival housing developer Brierley Homes and their construction partner The HACS Group for the scale of their projects.
But that does not mean the value of the group’s contribution to the community has gone unrecognised.
While Brierley Homes and The HACS Group have been busy creating new homes with the Millwright Park development in Pateley Bridge, they have taken the opportunity to support the Men’s Shed with a donation of materials.
Shed members had been struggling to obtain materials for their work and when that became apparent, a donation was organised to help to keep members busy.
That is important not only for mental health reasons – one of the reasons the Shed was established was to counter social isolation and loneliness – but also because it will generate benefits for the wider community.
Volunteers at the shed will be commissioned to make bat and bird boxes, along with ‘bug hotels’, which will be installed at Millwright Park as the development, due for completion in spring, progresses.
Millwright Park is a development of 20 quality homes and will help to meet the demand for housing in the area.
Brierley Homes Director Matt O’Neill said: “Brierley Homes recognises the importance of strong communities and we do all we can to support them in the areas where we work.”
The HACS Group Commercial Director, Eddie Ashworth said: “As an established local contractor, we always do our very best to get involved and support the local community and here at Woodfield Square it has been a great opportunity to interact with Woodfield Primary.
“It was a delight to see some local school children visiting and to be able to bury the time capsule they had put together. They may be young, but we were able to give them an early taste of the construction industry and maybe some will be inspired to consider careers in the sector as they get older.”
Woodfield Community Primary School teacher Kerry Howes said: “The children had a great time at Woodfield Square, learning about what happens on building sites, and understanding how new homes are built and communities are formed.
“It was exciting to see the time capsule buried on site – inside we wrote about our families, ourselves, what jobs we wanted to do in the future and the news of the day. We also included a photograph of the class.
“It has been a great experience for the children and I’m sure it is one they will remember for many years to come,” she said.