skip to main content
  • *
  • *
Find Insight DIY on
* * *

UK DIY News

New Pick ‘n’ Wickes Initiative Supports Community Projects In Letchworth

Andy McLean (Garden Shed Letchworth) and Jordan Bendon (Wickes)

With more people looking for ways to cut costs and reduce waste, Wickes has partnered with Letchworth Garden Shed, a local branch of the UK’s growing Library of Things initiatives, to launch Pick ‘n’ Wickes. The new trial scheme now provides community groups and local charities with everyday Wickes DIY essentials that can’t be borrowed, helping them take on projects more easily when borrowing tools from the library.

Originally an idea from the USA, there are now multiple Libraries of Things operating in the UK. These initiatives allow communities to borrow the items they need, whether that’s DIY and gardening tools, camping gear, sewing machines, or even a pizza oven, and simply return them when they’re done. Each library’s collection is unique, tailored to the needs of its local community.

To encourage a more resourceful approach to home improvement that also helps the community save money, the Wickes Community Programme has donated a wide range of practical essentials to support Letchworth Garden Shed, a local branch of the Library of Things. These include nails, plugs, nuts and bolts, brackets, washers, jigsaw blades, PPE, staples, sanding sheets, wood screws, mixed screw sets, and storage boxes to help keep everything organised.

The Wickes Community Programme is a donation fund open to community groups looking to improve and maintain local projects. That’s why Wickes has partnered with Letchworth Garden Shed, a not-for-profit organisation, to help even more local groups and charities in the area.
Until recently, the Letchworth Garden Shed team personally funded essential DIY supplies for their members. The new Pick ‘n’ Wickes initiative now offers these materials free to Garden Shed members, ensuring community groups, local residents, and charities have the support they need to borrow tools and complete their projects.

/live/news/wysiwyg/Pick n Wickes 2.jpg

Andy McLean, Letchworth Garden Shed Founding Member, said: “We’re properly excited to add Pick ‘n’ Wickes to our Library of Things, and not just because team Shed loves a good pun! This is a really amazing way to grow the kit we provide for our community - pop by to borrow a drill or a strimmer, and then you can pick up the screws or goggles you need while you’re in. Huge thanks and hats off to The Wickes Community Programme for partnering up with us and bringing all these useful bits and bobs to our members for their DIY and home projects. The Shed is all about sharing as a community, so if you’ve got a neighbourhood project on the go, give us a shout - we’d love to get involved.”

Hannah Randle Hockin, Community Engagement Manager at Wickes said: “We’re really proud to support a project that makes DIY even more accessible for local community groups. The Letchworth Library of Things is a brilliant resource, and it’s great to see communities coming together to share tools. We’re glad we could play a small part by donating the everyday essentials that help make these projects possible.”

Source : Wickes

Main image : Pictured left: Andy McLean, Founding Member of Garden Shed Letchworth. Pictured right: Jordan Bendon, Store Manager at Wickes Letchworth

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter. 

31 July 2025

Related News

view more UK DIY News
*

Insight provides a host of information I need on many of our company’s largest customers. I use this information regularly with my team, both at a local level as well as with our other international operations. It’s extremely useful when sharing market intelligence information with our corporate office.

*
Paul Boyce - European CEO, QEP Ltd.
Newsletters

Don't miss out on all the latest, breaking news from the DIY industry