International repair day returned this week and this year a new Somerset repair group in Minehead joined the celebration.

Based at Sacred Heart Church, Minehead, Minehead Repair Café opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, joining the thriving network of more than 20 volunteer-run repair groups in Somerset.

During their first repair café, Minehead repairers welcomed many visitors, alongside local MP Rachel Gilmour and Deputy Mayor Cllr Anne Lawton.

Volunteer repairers helped to repair 22 items from a clock to the foot plate of a wheelchair and a vacuum cleaner.

Repair events bring people together and offer practical help when commercial repair costs are prohibitive.

Executive Member for Transport and Waste Services, Councillor Richard Wilkins said:

We’re pleased that Somerset has such a thriving network of groups, repair is on the rise and we want to support locals to love their things for longer.

Recycling is great, but repair and reuse are even better.

Repair groups are often community hubs, bringing like-minded people together. Seeing new groups start-up is great, showing that Somerset really does have a green and sustainable future.

To find out more information about Somerset’s repair network, including an interactive map showing all the active groups, visit the Council’s Repair Groups page.

Repair is not only good on the wallet, but also better for the environment compared to buying from new. The things we use every day contain precious materials, such as metals and when items are repaired rather than replaced it stops the materials going to waste.

The Minehead Repair Café committee added:

Our thanks goes to our team and repairers, for a marvellous launch day.

To support us on International Repair Day, we were visited by our MP Rachel Gilmour and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Anne Lawton who saw the team repair 22 of the items brought in.

One of the more challenging repairs was a set of foot rests from a wheelchair, one of which was bent out of alignment. It was a team repairer effort to straighten it out and reattach to the wheelchair. Not only was the wheelchair saved from landfill but the wheelchair user could get out and about again.

This goes to show that not only do Repair Cafes reduce waste, but can also improve the quality of people’s lives.

Many small repairs are easy to do with a little know-how. Lots of help can be found online and plenty of people in the community have useful skills. The local repairers not only help to extend the life of items, but help to keep family treasures in good working order.

Phil and Margaret, who visited the repair café with a clock that previously belonged to Phil’s father commented:

I want to continue to use the clock. I think of dad every time I wind it up.

Fixy also joined the event and was on hand to accept pre-loved items of smart tech. The Fixy team promote reuse, repair and recycling throughout Somerset using ‘Fixy’ the bright blue promotional van.

During the event, Fixy received more than 50 items, including 42 smart phones and 5 laptops that will be sent to DonateIT who will securely data wipe and pass back into the community.

Minehead Repair Café is part of CAG Somerset , a free-to-join membership organisation that provides support to a thriving network of local Community Action Groups.

Groups that champion reuse, repair, waste reduction, sharing, surplus food or composting can join the Somerset Council and SUEZ backed CAG Somerset.