Tamworth Men's Shed receives donation of second-hand furniture from Ray Walsh House council chambers

A lot of the furniture from the old council building was reused at other sites when council moved its workers out of the building last year due to an asbestos hazard.

What was left is being sold to recoup some of the cost, or donated to community groups.

Tamworth Men's Shed took delivery of several items, including a large cupboard and several desks on Tuesday, which will either be put to good use as furniture or recycled timbers.

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The shed mates are thrilled, secretary Ken Smith said.

"It was a godsend," Mr Smith said.

"Anything that we get donated is repurposed, used in the shed itself or if we're forced to, if someone comes in and wishes to buy a piece of furniture they like, then we'll sell it to them."

"Because of the quality of the timber and the size of the council furniture, we were going to have to cut some of it up to get it physically out of the building," council's people officer Marie Resch said.

"So from that perspective we thought due to the quality of the timber we'd like it to be repurposed, so they were the logical group."

Additional pieces, including tables, chairs, shelving and filing cabinets will also be donated to the Tamworth Regional Astronomy Club, while tables and chairs have been relocated to the Tamworth Community Centre for use by Tamworth Regional Film and Sound Archive and Tamworth Powerstation Museum volunteers.

Tamworth Astronomy Club President Steve Rogers said because the club is made up of volunteers finding enough furniture to fill the space has been a challenge.

"The furniture the club has received from council is fabulous, as it will slot straight into the centre and we are over the moon with what we have received," Mr Rogers said.

Council also recently auctioned off furniture that was unable to be repurposed, and is in the process of reaching out to additional community groups, who might be interested in the remaining office stationery and equipment.

"Interested community groups should get in touch via Council's customer service team," Ms Resch said.

A final report on cost of the relocation from Ray Walsh House was to be presented to Council at Tuesday night's meeting.

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