Alexandra Park Greenhouse Group bags £8,000 funding

The supermarket teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative, which sees grants – raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to thousands of community projects.

After extensive work to restore the cast iron upper ventilation system and decorative brackets, made possible thanks to Tesco’s generous donation, the project has come to life.

The organisation aims to completely restore the 1930’s Richardson’s teak frame greenhouse in Alexandra Park, creating a key horticultural and educational facility within the community.

The Alexandra Park Greenhouse was bought and erected in 1934 by the council to grow plants and greenery for the gardens and parks of Hastings and was a vital source of food supply in the Second World War when rations were low.

Unfortunately in recent years the facility became too expensive to maintain and was left abandoned. In 2013 the founders and volunteers of the group found the building and decided to bring life back to the place that had brought so much joy and memories to the town. Thanks to the money provided by Tesco Hastings, the key elements such as the ventilators and upper metalwork of the building are now back in working order as they were in 1934.

Chairman of Alexandra Park Greenhouse Group Linda Pearson said: “Thanks to the Tesco Bags of Help scheme we’ve been able to complete essential work.

“Once completed, this glorious building will become a valuable community hub for horticultural and educational activities. All ages and capabilities will be able to share skills and enjoy the opportunity of working together in a facility that will be a major asset to the town.”

Mandy Ashenden, community champion for Hastings Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success. We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from our customers. The great thing about Bags of Help is that local people are invited to decide how the money will be spent in their community. We love seeing the projects come to life.”

Voting ran in stores throughout October and November with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out.

Visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp for details.

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