HASLEMERE shoppers who voted to upgrade the Lion Green playground in Tesco’s Bags of Help initiative in February, saw their dream come true last week.

By voting in force to improve their town’s playground, they helped win a grant of £12,000 from the supermarket scheme in partnership with Groundwork, because it was the project that won the most votes in the region.

Community groups in each of Tesco’s 390 regions bid for a share of the revenue generated from the five pence charge levied on plastic carrier bags and Haslemere Town Council was the recipient of the lion’s share of one of the three grants available locally, which ranged from £8,000 to £12,000.

The grant provided a big boost to the money already set aside by the town council for phased improvements to Lion Green. Town mayor Sahran Abeysundara officially opened the first upgrade, which has equipped the playground with three new pieces of equipment, including a climbing frame and a group slide.

“We are the custodians of the town and we want to be more pro-active,” Mr Abeysundara said. “We want to take care of the town and enhance it.

“This is the start of a phased development and we are keen to hear from residents what other improvements they would like. It was fantastic we were able to do this in partnership with Tesco.”