An Alloa community charity has been granted permission to purchase an unused council building in the town centre.
Alloa Community Shed is aimed at promoting mental health and wellbeing among residents and since May, has been looking at trying to buy Marshil House, which has been vacant since November 2023.
The charity has been awarded £185,800 to purchase and renovate Marshill House in Alloa town centre to provide a space for people to learn and connect, to improve wellbeing and reduce social isolation.
Kenny Quinn, Chairman, Alloa Community Shed, said: ''We’re absolutely delighted, securing Marshill House gives Alloa Community Shed a permanent home and a solid base to grow and serve the wider community.
“The men’s shed is still here and going strong, we changed our name from Forth Valley Men’s Shed to widen our impact.
"Our name has changed but the heart of what we do hasn’t.”
The space will be a hub for local people, both young and old, to connect, share skills and build friendships.
Kenny continued: “It’s not just for old people, we have people from 21 upwards, we want to encourage youths, and we’ve dropped the age of joining to 16.”
Some of the activities include DIY, woodwork, tool repairing and helping with community projects for local schools.
Scottish Conservative Mid-Scotland & Fife Conservative MSP, Alexander Stewart said: “I sincerely congratulate the Shed and its Chair, Kenny Quinn on this landmark success.
"This means that they’ll not only have an iconic building for meetings and events, but also it promises a welcoming and safe environment for people to visit and attend, whether they may be seeing help from the Shed or just to go along for social activities and meeting others for a cup of tea and a chat.
“As they go forward with this exciting new project, I wish them all the very best in these endeavours and as such, I was also pleased to lodge a Motion in Parliament for cross-party support congratulating them all on this fantastic achievement.”
However, this success is just the first step. There's still plenty work to be done to restore the building to public use. Extensive repairs will be needed, such as plastering, electrical inspections, partition wall removal and wind and watertight maintenance.
Kenny added "Our members and committee have worked tirelessly to make this happen, and we're all looking forward to what comes next."
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