We need your vote!

Lytham Hall is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, yet again.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the monthly funding scheme, which sees grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local outdoor community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and this month shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Lytham Hall is one of the groups on the shortlist.

Sue Lowe, volunteer coordinator at Lytham Hall said: “We have previously come second in Tesco Bags of Help; that funding has allowed us to create a kitchen garden at the back of our popular tea room. We expect to be plucking the fruits of that great volunteer labour later this year. To be shortlisted yet again is great news for all who love and visit Lytham Hall. To win means upgrading paths for wheelchair and buggy access. If we win first prize we can hopefully even resurface a section of our potholed driveway, so we would like to ask you all to get involved and vote.”

Lytham Hall parkland is enjoyed by thousands of people and paths have been created to create an accessible route for members of the public. Voting for Lytham Hall at your local Tesco will enable upgrading of some of these paths, so that the local parkrun can enjoy its preferred route along so-called “Old Ballam Road”. Kirsten Burnett from Lytham Hall parkrun said; “We hope our runners and other locals will support the Hall in their bid so we can return to our original 5k route, easing congesting on ever-busier Saturdays and making the experience even better for our many visitors from far and wide.”

Voting is open in stores from 2 January to 28 January. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop. The shops where you can vote for Lytham Hall are in Blackpool, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Poulton-le-Fylde, Bispham and Lytham St Annes.

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £24 million to more than 2,400 projects up and down the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups each month. At the end of each month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for January. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s national Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:

“We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between.

“We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”

The Bags of Help scheme is permanently open for applications and anyone can nominate a project at any time – whether it’s Tesco customers, colleagues or the community groups themselves. Just ask in store for more information or visit the Bags of Help website, visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp/