Premises

Premises

You may well have no choice of the premises for your workshop and toolstore, but if you are starting from scratch, consider the following points when looking for premises. Whatever the event, you will probably have to settle for something which is less than ideal!

Location

If your base is in a town or city, a location near public transport will avoid your volunteers having any excuses for not turning up. In rural areas public transport is unlikely to be a relevant factor, but somewhere fairly central to your catchment area is likely to be best.

Access and parking

The ideal situation is to have both workshop and toolstore on the ground floor of a building, with direct access through wide doors to ample parking space outside. Loading and unloading tools is very much easier if you can reverse the van right up to the toolstore door. Also consider parking for volunteers’ cars and bikes. One sure way of falling out with any near neighbours is by infringing on their perceived parking rights!

Planning control

At an early stage you should check with the local planning authority that there are no controls over using the premises for a workshop and toolstore. You will probably need planning permission to make any external changes, such as to put in a larger door.

Noise

Depending on the nearness of neighbours, you may need to consider the effect on good relations of both noise from the workshop and from vehicles. Various measures can be taken to reduce the amount of noise heard outside the workshop. The noise of vehicles and occupants coming and going is largely a matter of consideration for others.

Security

This is a problem for both rural and urban premises. Don’t consider anywhere that cannot be made secure, and take extra measures as necessary

Lease

If taking out a lease, you will probably need to get legal advice. If the arrangement is of a more informal nature, perhaps using a member ’s garage or a farm building, at least come to a friendly agreement first, written if possible. This should cover matters such as payment for electricity used, repair of any damage, contents insurance, reinstatement (i.e. putting things back as they were) and the period of any ‘notice to quit’.

Finding premises

Presuming you have any choice, how does one go about finding premises? The first step is to ask members of the group, and get them to follow up any contacts they may have. Other organisations in the conservation field may also be able to help, including the countryside service or parks department of the local authority. Then look through advertisements in local newspapers, and enquire at estate agents. You may strike lucky by simply looking around the area you are interested in and making enquiries about any empty property.