Free Market Radicals – Rochford Parish Council
5th January 2021
Free Market Radicals Project – Get Involved and Complete the Survey
A new project has started that is aiming to help local people, groups and businesses to develop new cultural and heritage activities, supporting the local Rochford economy (and of course other areas of the District). The project is called Free Market Radicals and takes inspiration from times when markets and fairs were major cultural, economic and social events. Town Centres have been badly hit by Covid-19 and there is a genuine need to continue reinventing them as shopping and leisure habits change.
The project is funded by the National Lottery Emerging Futures Fund which aims to make the most of good ideas and community initiatives post-Covid. Cultural Engine CIC and Hundred Others CIC are the two organisations collaborating to deliver the project. The first stage is to gather feedback from local people and businesses on what they see as the creative opportunities for their town. This will be matched with other research and used to help local people develop new or existing projects and events, secure funding and contribute to the future vibrancy of the towns. The Free Market Radicals (FMR) team has a wealth of experience in developing projects, securing funding, organising and staging events, commissioning new creative work and working on local economic, tourism and cultural policy. Following the survey the FMR team will organise some small events and workshops to discuss and debate some of the issues, bringing people together (online or in person depending upon Covid restrictions).
The simple online survey, which takes around 8 minutes, can be found through this link:
