Ground-breaking ceremony held for new men’s shed

Ground-breaking ceremony for the new men’s shed

Work has begun on creating a long-anticipated gathering place in Aboyne.

Construction of the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed has been three years in the making, with exhaustive searches carried out by the area’s men’s shed group to find the perfect location.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held yesterday at Aboyne Stone Circle, off Ballater Road.

The charity’s prime goal is to provide opportunities for social interaction among older men in the region, who can often suffer from loneliness after retirement.

The building will also feature a kitchen and workshop space.

Yesterday’s ceremony was attended by Amy Anderson, representing the NHS Grampian Endowment Trust, and Eric Sinclair, a former NHS Grampian board member, alongside other supporters and benefactors.

The group hopes to complete phase one on the building by the end of the year, and have a structure in place that can be fitted out by January.

By mid-July, the venue will be open for business, and be made available for other community groups across the region to access. The total cost of the venture is estimated to be more than £600,000 – with more funding left to meet.

The shed will be constructed on the Aboyne Castle Estate, which has supported the organisation through a favourable lease agreement.

Committee member Dave Marshall previously said the project “represents a major new social development for Aboyne”.