Whaley Shed

We have been operating as a volunteer group since 2011 and a CIC since March 2019, in that time we have done our best to turn around a derelict and redundant piece of land and building and transform it into a community asset. Over the intervening years we have built on this and established ourselves as a real community hub. This really became apparent as Lockdown and Covid took hold. People were struggling and we essentially had an outdoor space with a roof. The warehouse's users have spilled out on to the surrounding area and the basin has become a more vibrant and interesting place to spend time. The intention was, in November 2020, to launch High Peak Heritage Crafts. Workshops were to be our main source of income. Tier 4 hit us as soon after one Christmas ornament class and we were prohibited from operating for the best part of six months. Our business model has changed. We developed a book subscription service as an extra source of income which as restrictions lifted transformed into a bookshop. From that initial lockdown in 2020 through all of 2021 we were the only group in Whaley to continue to make our presence felt, providing safely managed events for our town and surrounds. We held markets, a Summer family friendly weekend, Christmas storytelling; all under carefully followed and scrutinised risk assessments and stringently observed Covid guidelines. We kept our doors open, as a place of refuge and escape from the realities of the world. We did this because we knew that people needed us, not for financial gain and actually at a loss given the cost of staying open without income. We established the Food bank in December 2020. This year we have launched and quickly established an active Men’s Shed.