£10K FOR RIVERSIDE WALK SERVING BRIGG THANKS TO TESCO

North Lincolnshire council has received a total of £30,000 funding from Tesco Bags of Help initiative that will go towards three community projects across North Lincolnshire.

This funding is part of £11.5m to be used on local projects across the country to improve green spaces in communities. The money was raised by Tesco customers paying for their carrier bags.

Around eight million Tesco shoppers voted in stores up and down the country and the three North Lincolnshire Council projects were chosen.

The projects in North Lincolnshire that will benefit are:

• £12,000 for the Wellbeing with Wildlife project at Frodingham Local Nature Reserve. The funding will revamp the access, enhance the habitat, install bird and bat boxes and improve the facilities on site.
• £8,000 for Local Nature Local People visualisation project at numerous Local Nature Reserves. This will create stunning information boards for visitors to enjoy and raise awareness of the sites.
• £10,000 for the Ancholme Valley Way. This will improve the rest areas along the River Ancholme complementing other improvements being a store carried out on the path. (The first section of the path is in Brigg, where Tesco has a store).

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the Bags of Help initiative, which has seen grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 being awarded to environmental and green space projects. The first round of the programme closed in December 2015. The next round will open in April 2016.

Voting ran in stores from 27 February to 6 March – with customers choosing which group they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the checkout in store.

Cllr Neil Poole, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said: “This is excellent news. Thank you to Tescos and Groundwork for awarding this funding and to Tesco customers for choosing our projects. They are fantastic projects that will be beneficial for our local communities.

“We have got some great wildlife areas in North Lincolnshire, which this funding will make the most of. The Local Nature Reserves will be enhanced to improve the visitor experience and there will be suitable seating installed along the River Ancholme to replace the rundown furniture. I am looking forward to seeing the difference this funding will make.”

Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “The Bags of Help initiative has been a fantastic success. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant.

“We can’t wait to see the money being put to use bringing these projects to life.

“Nominations for the next round of the initiative will open in April and we look forward to helping a further round of groups and projects bag their share of the bag charge fund.”

Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said:

“We have been delighted to have been involved in the Bags of Help project. It has been wonderful to follow the projects through the application process to the final announcement.

“This is money which will go directly back into the communities up and down the country creating places to meet people, be active, play or simply relax. This initiative is really putting something back into the local environment, transforming green spaces and helping the community at a grass-roots level.”

Nominations and applications for the next round of Bags of Help funding will open on 18 April. As well as applying direct, suggestions for projects can also be nominated by people living locally.