TWO local good causes are set to benefit from at least £8,000 each, thanks to the 5p carrier bag charge.

Lanstephan Area Play Park and Black Torrington Playing Field Committee will benefit from Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ initiative.

The Tesco bag levy fund totals £11.5-million and 1,170 organisations in Tesco’s 390 regions will benefit.

More than 4,500 groups up and down the country applied for grants from the scheme. These were whittled down to three in each of Tesco’s regions.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its ‘Bags of Help’ initiative, which sees grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 — all raised from the 5p bag levy — being awarded to environmental and community projects.

Tesco customers can vote for who should take away which grant award.

Voting is open in store from this Saturday, February 27, until March 6. Customers will be able to vote using a token given to them at the checkout in store.

The other two groups that will receive funding alongside Lanstephan Area Play Park in the ‘Cornwall North’ region are St Dominick Parish Council and St Issey and Little Petherick Play Park Trust, and customers will be able to vote for these groups at the Launceston branch of Tesco, as well as at stores in Padstow, Wadebridge and Callington.

The Post reported last week that the Lanstephan Area Play Park Committee was awarded a £15,000 Pocket Park grant, which will help start the transformation of the former car park off St Mary’s Road, in Lanstephan, to an inviting public space.

Iris Lindsay from Lanstephan Area Play Park Committee said: “We just want support from the local Launceston community for this worthwhile project, and to make sure they go to Tesco to do their shop. It really will help us.”

Black Torrington Playing Field Committee hopes to secure the most votes, and £12,000, to resurface the area to a good quality and install basketball hoops.

The other two groups that will benefit from the fund in the North Devon region are the National Trust and Devon County Council.

Will Frost, of Black Torrington Playing Field Committee, told the Post: “We are delighted to be a recipient of Tesco’s #BagsofHelp initiative.

“An application was made to renovate the village games area, which is in a really bad state of repair. The Tesco Bags of Help grant will enable the village to resurface the games area so it can be used for netball, tennis, football, cricket, etc.

“The Black Torrington community have been working hard to raise money for the games area project and recently held a pasty fest in the Torridge Inn. There were many entrants to the pasty making competition that had traditional, non-traditional and a children’s category. The money raised from that event was £300.

“The Tesco Bags of Help is a real boost in funding and will enable the work to go ahead this summer.

“Please visit your local store and vote to help make a difference in the community.”

Customers can vote for Black Torrington Playing Field Committee at Tesco stores in Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Braunton, Westward Ho! and Bideford.

The bag charge was introduced in England on October 5.

Caroline Silke, head of community at Tesco, said: “The money raised by customers through the carrier bag levy will go directly to the local community through our Bags of Help initiative.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing how our customers will vote in Cornwall and these three great local projects coming to life.”

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