New on the scene  |  18 Jul 2019

A new ‘tool library’ has opened in Christchurch’s city centre to give residents access to handy tools for home use.

A man drilling a shelf to a wall.

A new tool library in central Christchurch allows people to borrow, rather than buy, tools for home use.

The Tool Lendery, at 178 Cashel Street, has been set up by Gap Filler and will be open every Wednesday from 4 to 6pm and every Saturday from 1 to 3pm.

“The average power drill gets used about 12 minutes during its entire life, so it makes sense to share under-utilised resources for a fraction of the cost of buying them,’’ says Gap Filler Project Developer Rhiannon Josland.

“We’ve had really positive reactions from the public so far. We’ve already had a bunch of happy customers, borrowing tools for both chores and at-home projects.’’

The Tool Lendery is part of the Placemaking At One Central programme, a partnership between Fletcher Living and Gap Filler which is focused on helping create great central city residential communities.

“This community resource has especially been designed to meet the needs of inner city residents,’’ Ms Josland says. “Typically they will be living in smaller dwellings with minimal storage space, so this provides them with a handy resource to borrow tools for chores or DIY projects that they may only use a handful of times.

“Gap Filler is increasingly interested in how we can experiment with collective ownerships and shared resources in light of the impacts of climate change. We need to be living in more sustainable ways.’’

An official launch event for the Tool Lendery will take place on Saturday 10 August from midday to 4pm. People will be able to sign-up as members, take part in hands-on activities such as tool demonstrations, and enjoy from kai from the neighbouring 03 Eatery.