North Hampshire Repair Cafe hailed for saving thousands

North Hampshire Repair Cafe will be celebrated at their upcoming session for their efforts in preventing household waste and promoting sustainability.

The 22nd session of the cafe will take place on Saturday, April 27, at Sherfield on Loddon village hall.

This special session will see the volunteers receive a certificate of appreciation from the mayor of Basingstoke and Deane in recognition of their valuable service.

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The most recent session, held at Rotherwick village hall, was a resounding success with 82 visitors.

Among them were 47 walk-in customers and 35 who submitted repair requests online. A team of 15 repairers, along with five additional volunteers who helped with reception, meet-and-greet duties, and refreshments, tackled a variety of items.

North Hampshire Repair Cafe volunteers (Image: Contributed)

The group had an impressive 72 per cent repair success rate, resulting in 48 successful repairs, including tool sharpening.

“I estimate that the total weight of all repaired items was about 57kg, so at least we avoided that going to landfill," said Derek Prior, organiser and a volunteer of the repair cafe.

“My rough estimate of the customer saving was £2,375, by avoiding unnecessary repurchases.”

A vintage Willcox and Gibbs hand sewing machine fixed by the North Hampshire Repair Cafe volunteers (Image: Contributed)

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He estimates that customers saved a significant sum – roughly £2,375 – at the Rotherwick session by avoiding the need to repurchase broken items.

The volunteers even managed to breathe new life into a vintage Willcox and Gibbs hand sewing machine, a 200-year-old treasure weighing a hefty 7kgs.

North Hampshire Repair Cafe covers Odiham, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Sherfield-on-Loddon and surrounding villages.