Pendleside Repair Café – “Bin It? No Way!”
Next events: Sat 2 May (Bike only repairs) and Sat 6 June (theme tba), 10.30am–12.30pm, Barley Methodist Chapel
What do a wobbly chair, a tired toaster, a punctured bicycle and a slice of homemade cake have in common?
They will all eventually have a place at the Pendleside Repair Café — a new community idea beginning to take shape here in our villages.
Still in its early days, the Repair Café is starting simply: a relaxed and friendly place where people can bring along small items to be looked at, enjoy tea and cake, swap ideas and perhaps save something from going to landfill.
At heart, it’s about asking a simple question: Why throw it away when it might be repaired?
Part of an international movement, Repair Café – Fix Your Broken Items and joining over 800 Repair Cafés across the UK, we hope Pendleside’s Repair Café can grow into a local eco-hub that encourages practical action around sustainability while strengthening community connections along the way.
What Happens at a Repair Café?
At the moment, we’re building on local volunteer skills and seeing where community interest takes us.
Items people often bring to Repair Cafés elsewhere include:
- Small electrical items such as lamps, kettles and toasters
- Clothing and textile repairs
- Simple woodwork fixes
- Bicycle adjustments
- Sharpening, glue repairs and other practical mending
No guarantees — just volunteers willing to have a look, share skills and see what can be saved.
And, of course, there’s tea, cake and conversation while it all happens.
Saturday May 2nd – Free Dr Bike Session
As one exciting next step, Go Velo from Barrowford will be joining us at our Saturday 2nd May session to offer a free Dr Bike check-up.
Bring your bike along for safety checks, adjustments and advice.
Growing Through Ideas
Our first two introductory sessions have been very encouraging, with over 20 people already offering support and ideas.
Many possibilities have been suggested for the future — ambitions rather than established plans at this stage — including:
- Book, seed, clothes and tool swaps
- Support for local recycling initiatives
- Refill stations to reduce packaging waste
- Links with other community environmental projects
We’re also beginning conversations with Pendle Borough Council’s Climate Action Working Group and Friends of the Earth’s Local Action Network.
Where it all leads will depend very much on local interest and involvement — and that is part of the fun.
We hope, over time, the Repair Café might become a place where people from across the Pendle villages can meet, share practical ideas and help shape something together.
Could You Help It Grow?
Because this is still developing, new volunteers and fresh ideas are especially welcome.
You might like to help as:
- Someone with repair skills
- A host serving tea and coffee
- A cake baker
- A welcoming face for visitors
- Social media or admin support
- Or simply someone with ideas to share
There really is something for everyone.
Interested?
We’d love to hear from you.
Volunteer enquiries: pendlesiderepaircafe@gmail.com
So before something heads for the bin, why not bring it along and see what might be possible?
After all…
“Bin It? No Way!”
Stay for a brew, help shape what the Repair Café could become.