PLANS to create a Burns-themed play park at the National Trust for Scotland’s award-winning Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway could get a boost through Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme.

The museum which celebrates the life and works of the poet is planning to create a brand new playpark which will encourage young visitors to discover the Scots language through play, enhance the visitor experience and to share the Trust’s important work to conserve and promote Scotland’s heritage with more people.

The project is one of several in Ayrshire in the running for funds of up to £12000 raised from Scotland’s 5p plastic bag charge. 

Customers of local Tesco stores will vote during store visits for the recipient they think will most benefit from the support, until November 13.

Learning Manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Chris Waddell said: “Learning through play is a great way of introducing the Scots language to our young visitors. 

“Our plan is for a play park that takes its inspiration from Burns and Scots and makes the experience of visiting our museum even more rewarding, engaging and fun for families. 

“It will provide a vital community amenity and enable us to reach to local folk who haven’t visited the museum yet, enabling us to share this important part of Scotland and Ayrshire’s heritage with even more people. 

"We hope that the shoppers of Ayrshire will support our bid for this funding.”
Tony McElroy, Tesco’s Head of Communications in Scotland, said: “The first round of the Bags of Help initiative was a fantastic success. In total 1,170 community groups were awarded £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000 - that’s a massive £11.7 million being invested into local projects. 

“We are already seeing results with some groups transforming their own environmental and greenspace areas. 

"We are absolutely delighted to be opening voting for round two. 

“We hope that even more customers will choose to support groups that mean a lot to them and to their communities. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life with Bags of Help grants.”

Under the project plan, seven new bespoke play pieces would be installed in the garden at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway. 

These would be themed around the life and work of national poet Robert Burns, with a particular slant towards his life in Alloway and his relationship with the natural world and the Scots language.