Maribyrnong’s Cycle Saloon faces eviction by Living Museum of the West

MEMBERS of a free bike repair workshop are facing an uphill battle to avoid eviction from their Maribyrnong shed.

A FREE bike repair workshop is facing an uphill battle to avoid eviction from its shed in Maribyrnong.

Cycle Saloon will be kicked out of their Pipemakers Park shed by the end of the month.

Living Museum of the West (LMW), which owns the shed, wants to use it for extra storage during upcoming construction works.

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The museum’s heritage-listed bluestone building located next to Cycle Saloon, is set to undergo a complete structural refurbishment.

Cycle Saloon founder Glen Mason said he was devastated to receive the eviction notice after six years of operation.

“It’s sad, a huge amount of work went into setting this up and it’s a shame to have to disassemble all of that,” he said.

“I was surprised to hear that we had to move out of the shed and a bit annoyed.”

Cycle Saloon manager Glen Mason at Pipemakers Park in Maribyrnong. Picture: Andy Brownbill

The workshop provides free repair services, low-cost bike parts and general advice to cyclists in the area Wednesday through to Sunday.

A petition with about 350 signatures will be submitted to Maribyrnong Council in a last-minute attempt to save the workshop.

Cyclist Alan Bennett said the shed had become a hub for the cycling community.

“It’s just a shame that we might lose that facility,” he said.

“A lot of people are really disappointed.”

MUSEUM CLAIMS IT HAS NO CHOICE

LMW vice-president Kerrie Poliness said they had nowhere else to store the abundance of objects which must be cleared out of the bluestone building before works start.

“We need the shed for storage because space is limited,” she said.

“Everything has to be out of that building — everything has to go and they have to go.”

Ms Poliness said the refurbishment works were crucial to preserving the heritage-listed building, which was close to falling apart.

She said Cycle Saloon was welcome to reapply to use the shed after construction was completed in June next year.

“When the works are over we won’t need that storage space and we will be taking expressions of interest from the community for projects,” she said.

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