Belfast Tool Library: Comedian Tim McGarry 'saws' the ribbon on a new community DIY and gardening workshop in east Belfast

The Belfast Tool Library (BTL) has some 1000 tools available to members for free to work on their own projects, with the support of skilled volunteers.

The workshop space, located at Vault Artist Studios in the former Rupert Stanley College in East Belfast, has been restored after many years to its original purpose of teaching woodwork.

Now it will be open to anyone who joins, to work on their own practical projects, making it possible for more people to ‘do it themselves’.

Kitted out with a number of heavy-duty tools and with a team of dedicated and skilled volunteers, participants will benefit from space and support to work on their own projects and make, fix, learn and do more for themselves.

Founded in 2019 by a group of committed volunteers, Belfast Tool Library aims to open up access to tools to more people in the city, using sharing to reduce cost and environmental impact.

Neal Campbell, co-founder and chair, said: “We’ve already completed more than 7,500 tool loans since we started - but we realised many people lacked a space to work on their projects. We hope by opening up the BTL Workshop, we can help more people realise their plans and dreams of making something with their own hands. We’ll also be able to offer classes and support from our friendly team, so participants can grow in confidence and skill.“With growing concern about the environmental impact of how we are living, and rising living costs, more and more people are interested in sharing resources, saving money and communities working together to tackle some of the big challenges we face. Belfast Tool Library is a practical, tangible way to do that and make our city more resilient."

The project has been funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund NI and the National Lottery Community Fund.Membership is open to everyone over 18 and costs just £25 or less per year. Each participant has a thorough, supervised induction. A varied programme of practical classes will start later this month.