The stage is set for a moving event as one of Bordon’s most treasured groups is finally getting a home.

Members of Bordon Men’s Shed have breathed a collective sigh of relief as their planning application for a workshop behind the Phoenix Theatre & Arts Centre has been approved.

The group wants to replace two shipping containers at the back of the Station Road venue with two temporary cabins, which will be conjoined and converted into a workshop.

The cabins have already been sourced and will be relocated from Wernick Hire Ltd at Coxbridge to the site.

There’s more to work to do as the existing containers must be removed while the application is only temporary and will need renewing in 2030.

But it’s great news for the group, which has been homeless since being forced to leave their former workshop at Prince Philip Park earlier this decade.

“I’m so pleased to report we have now been granted planning permission from EHDC,” said applicant, Clive Handy.

“This is temporary and must be renewed in five years’ time.

“But it’s also just the start, as we now need to get the existing storage containers moved and to buy the site cabins to be used as our workshop.

“But all this means we are on the way.”

The BMS application has plenty of support with Whitehill Town Council raising no objection to the plans.

“Whitehill Town Council is pleased that Bordon Men’s Shed has finally found a new home,” said the deputy town clerk, Ray Ramsay, on behalf of WTC to East Hampshire District Council.

One of the conditions is a restriction on hours of operation, with BMS limited to operating from the site from 10am to 5.30pm on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays, with no work allowed on Sundays, bank or public holidays.