Campaigners for an Oxford community garden will appeal to ITV news viewers to try to win a £50,000 Lottery grant.

The Barracks Lane Community Garden project will compete against a Gloucestershire cyber-caf in the People's Millions feature on ITV News Central South next Monday. A short video explaining the aims of the community gardeners will be shown between 6pm and 7pm, before voters decide which project to support by phoning, texting or emailing the programme.

The former wasteland, notorious for drug use and prostitution, was secured from the council by residents in March, with a £15,000 grant for decontamination. Project managers now need cash to turn the area into a garden and ecological workshop over the next year.

Group treasurer Helen Osborn said: "We have been planning for the garden for so long now. We just really need people to vote on the day."

The residents are hoping to build the workshop using timber and straw bales, with compost toilet facilities and solar electricity.

It would be available for community meetings, gardening workshops and social events.

Two other Oxfordshire projects - an astroturf pitch for Burford Primary School and a baby caf bus in Headington - will go head-to-head for viewers' votes next Tuesday. Burford Primary School hopes to install a floodlit, all-weather pitch for use by the school and local community.

Headteacher Ellie Stacey said: "The field we have now is very hard to use in the winter.

"The children are excited that the film crew are here at the moment and they like the idea of a new pitch too."

The Roundabout Centre in Headington wants to refurbish a bus to make a mobile baby caf. providing a friendly place for mothers to meet and breastfeed.

Maggie Smith, manager of the Family and Community Service, said: "We would love to be able to provide a mobile baby caf service, and we are very excited about the bid. All we can do is tell as many people to vote as possible."

The winners of the funding will be announced on the Big Lottery website at www.biglott-eryfund.org.uk/peoplesmillions and on ITV Central South the day after the video appeals are shown.