There  were two complaints last week from   Hazlehurst Senior Citizens Club, who use the hall after us on Saturday . The issues are basically about how people can share space, and could have been solved earlier, and informally, and in a friendly way. However Hazlehurst chose not to do that, and instead   chose to raise them semi-officially, and as OH&S.

The issue was , while Hazlehurst members were arriving,  some  people were working on a bike, near the back door . The bike was leaning on a bollard; there were some tools on the ground.  

 Hazlehurst  believed tools/bikes near the door  are a  ‘safety hazard’  ‘a tripping hazard’  and ‘obstructing the  path’   for their senior citizens. Some are over 80 and cannot see well.  

As Hazlehurst framed it as an OH&S issue -  the Workshop needs to respond using that framework..

 In terms of risk management, the likelihood of anything happening is small but not negligable.   Bikes, and people working on them, are large, easy to see.   Tools on the ground might be a bit harder to spot.   

That said, if anything does happen, consequences are serious. Falls can be debilitating for the elderly e.g broken hips, or torn tendons, which will not heal well.

  The only way we can eliminate the risk, is from now on, be packed up and gone,  before Hazlehurst turn up.   This means stopping work outside by 12, and  limiting what we do inside.  Otherwise, even with the best intentions....  sooner or later someone will leave a spanner on the ground,  and someone from Hazlehurst will stumble on it.

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This is disappointing , as it cuts our time   from 9-1 to 9-12.   Council originally thought we could continue working after 12, and overlap with Hazlehurst.  We had been doing this for some time, with no problems.  Hazlehurst  folk seemed friendly; I thought any   issues could be talked over and resolved in a friendly way. In addition Hazlehurst, if worried about bikes,  have the option of   the front entrance for their frail elderly; that is entirely free of bikes, we don’t use it.

 However the two rather abrupt people  who collared me on Saturday,  didn’t seem open to much friendly discussion .

So a few guidelines for Saturdays from now..

1.   we’ll need to finish bike work  at 11:50,  then  be gone from the car park by 12.  Please be punctual, I'll be locking up soon after. 

Also,   … in case Hazlehurst turn up early….

1.  If you  work outside, please make sure you’re not blocking the door  Leave the walkway to the door clear – that’s the yellow hatching.  Please don’t lean bikes up against the bollards.
2. Keep your tools in one place and off the floor! We’ll try to get  some  portable tables..

Finally,We   ought to   open the workshop at another time – any volunteers?  To some extent we're victims of our own success - more people turning up - tending to need more time. Workshop is free  Sat after 4,   Sunday   til 2.   Also   Mon, Tue Thu after 3:30, and all day Friday.   

Anyone interested in running another session regularly?  please contact myself, Brian Jenkins or Jeremy Miller.

This is all a bit disappointing. It seems unfair, as the responsiblity is really a joint one - yet it seems to be us that have to do a lot of accommodation, and Hazlehurst do very ilttle extra.     As Hazlehurst raised it as OH&S, I've had to look into it thoroughly, and draft a response that's at least semi official. That's taken  4-5 hours of my time,  for something that they could have resolved with us, and in a more friendly way,  more effectivley, and earlier, by a few minutes of friendly chat.   Still, done now, and I guess we must live with it.

Mike.