New free repair shop to launch in Oxford
Organisers hope the initiative will attract enough interest to continue on a monthly basis.
New free repair shop set to open in Oxford
Help with fixing bikes, electrical items, computers and clothes will be offered in an Oxford neighbourhood on Saturday.
The first Jericho Repair Shop will be held at St Barnabas CE Primary School in Jericho, from 10:00 to 12:00 BST.
Organiser John Mair said everyone was welcome and that donations would be used to cover rental costs and advertising for the event, which he hoped would become a monthly fixture.
He said an initiative like the repair shop "stops people throwing things away".
Mair said he decided to set up a repair shop in Jericho after using the service himself.
"I went to the repair shop in Wolvercote maybe a year or two ago and they repaired my garden blower - I thought this is a good idea," he said.
"I've brought over the man who repairs bicycles in Wolvercote, people who repair sewing, people who do computers, who sharpen knives."
Ben Tuppen, co-ordinator of Share Oxford, which also runs repair cafes in Oxford, previously said society needed to be more innovative in its approach to sustainability.
"If it doesn't work, repair it, don't throw it away and certainly don't throw it on the pavement," Mair said.
Mair said he was looking forward to the launch and expected "anywhere between 10 and 100 people".
"It costs you nothing, but we'll expect a donation," he said.
"If enough people turn up, it'll be the first Saturday of November, and if enough people turn up, first Saturday of December."
Mair, who has been organising public events in Jericho such as Lazy Saturday and Lazy Sunday in Mount Place, said he wanted to see "how much demand there is".
He added: "All communities need hubs and this might as well be one, so why not?"