Why is SILK doing a bulk buying project?
SILK is involved in the bulk-buying project because it was voted as one of the favourite ideas at a public event in November 08 last year attended by 50 plus Parkwood residents.
What do you mean by ‘bulk-buying’?
Bulk-buying means simply buying items in bulk to cut down on costs. At this point in the project we are not trying to predict what the project might look like or what customers may want to buy.
Why Parkwood? There are lots of other areas that would benefit from this!
The idea for the bulk-buying project was voted for by residents of Parkwood so it is important that they are the ones to benefit form the project. If the project is successful then it is hoped it could be replicated in other areas of Maidstone and beyond.
So what’s happened so far?
A meeting was held on 19th June with a range of people representing different agencies that work in the Parkwood area. It was an initial meeting to map current activity in the Parkwood area, identify who would like to be part of the core project team and draw up a project timeline. It was an open meeting and several of the residents who had been involved in the initial research were able to attend.
So what’s going to happen now?
SILK will be coordinating a core project team including residents and people from agencies working in the local area. This team will follow the SILK methodology and undertake a phase of Insight gathering this summer including mapping the journey of products bought by residents and organising a series of fact-finding trips for the community to go and visit other projects and bring ideas back to Parkwood. In September the core team hope to start designing the Bulk-buying scheme and testing out their ideas.
I live/work in Parkwood, how can I get involved?
The core team will be meeting regularly on a Friday morning from 9.30-11am at the Healthy Living Centre so if you would like to find out more then please come along.
We will also shortly be setting up a noticeboard at the Healthy Living Centre and will have a stall at the Parkwood Fete on 3rd July from 2-5.30pm at Bellwood School to meet more of the residents.
An online project space will be available very soon to allow people to log on and get involved online!
If you have any suggestions or would like to be added to a list to receive project updates then please email the team: SILK.team@kent.gov.uk
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