From www.castlebar.ie General
National Awards National Awards Centre Mark Awards Ireland’s Tidiest Village Birdhill, Co. Tipperary 291 €4,000 & Trophy Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town Aughrim, Co. Wicklow 294 €4,000 & Trophy Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town Westport, Co. Mayo 295 €4,000 & Trophy Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre Ennis, Co. Clare 288 €4,000 & Trophy __________________________________________________ Ireland's Tidiest Town 2006 Westport, Co. Mayo 295 ?15,000 & Plaque ________________________________________________________
Medal Awards W I N E R Gold Medal Awards of ?650 S Category Centre Marks Category A Birdhill, Co. Tipperary 291 Moynalty, Co. Meath 290 Newtowncashel, Co. Longford 290
Category C Aughrim, Co. Wicklow 294 Glenties, Co. Donegal 293 Lismore, Co. Waterford 291 Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow 286 Category D Clonakilty, Co. Cork 286 Kenmare, Co. Kerry 285 Category E Westport, Co. Mayo 295 Skerries, Co. Dublin 280 Category F Killarney, Co. Kerry 293 Category G Ennis, Co. Clare 288 Letterkenny, Co. Donegal 287 Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny 284 Malahide, Co. Dublin 276
Silver Medal Awards of €550 Category Centre Marks Category A Eyeries, Co. Cork 289 Rathbarry, Co. Cork 287 Keadue, Co. Roscommon 285 Category B Stradbally, Co. Waterford 288 Tallanstown, Co. Louth 287 Knockbridge, Co. Louth 286 Category D Kilrush, Co. Clare 282 Kinsale, Co. Cork 280 Category G Carlow Town, Co. Carlow 271 Clonmel, Co. Tipperary 268 Category H Dundalk, Co. Louth 266
Bronze Medal Awards of €400 Category Centre Marks Category A Clonegal, Co. Carlow 284 Dromod, Co. Leitrim 280 Mountshannon, Co. Clare 280 Terryglass, Co. Tipperary 280 Category B Malin, Co. Donegal 283 Castletown, Co. Laois 281 Emly, Co. Tipperary 280 Category C Adare, Co. Limerick 277 Category D Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan 279 Category E Dungarvan, Co. Waterford 269 Category G Tralee, Co. Kerry 255 ________________________________________________________
Regional Awards of €1,500 Sponsored by Repak Region Winners Marks Dublin City & County Skerries, Co. Dublin 280 Midlands East Aughrim, Co. Wicklow 294 North West Glenties, Co. Donegal 293 Shannon Birdhill, Co. Tipperary 291 South East Lismore, Co. Waterford 291 South West Killarney, Co. Kerry 293 West Westport, Co. Mayo 295 ________________________________________________________ Best New Entry Awards of €1,000 Sponsored by Dulux Paints Ireland Category Winners Marks Category A Partry, Co. Mayo 230 Category B Clogher, Co. Mayo 223 Category C Rathdowney, Co. Laois 218 Category D Blessington, Co. Wicklow 186 Category G Ballymun, Dublin 11 214 Category H Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 219 ______________________________________________________
County Awards of €700, €600 & €500 A W A R D SCounty Winner Marks Highly Commended Marks Commended Marks Carlow Leighlinbridge 286 Clonegal 284 Carlow Town 271 Cavan Butlersbridge 252 Loch Gowna 245 Cavan Town 242 Clare Ennis 288 Kilrush 282 Mountshannon 280 Cork (N) Castletownroche 271 Kilworth 264 Millstreet 262 Cork (S) Kinsale 280 Macroom 259 Youghal 255 Cork (W) Eyeries 289 Rathbarry 287 Clonakilty 286 Donegal Glenties 293 Letterkenny 287 Malin 283 Dublin (C) Raheny 238 Temple Bar 233 Chapelizod 232 Dublin (DR) Dalkey 235 Dún Laoghaire 231 Sandycove 221 Dublin (F) Skerries 280 Malahide 276 Ballyboughal 252 Dublin (S) Lucan 250 Terenure 239 Newcastle-Lyons 210 Galway Abbey 267 Milltown 265 Monivea 264 Kerry Killarney 293 Kenmare 285 Sneem 278 Kildare Rathangan 266 Kill 261 Newbridge 253 Kilkenny Kilkenny City 284 Inistioge 274 Tullahought 256 Laois Castletown 281 Ballacolla 272 Clonaslee 267 Leitrim Dromod 280 Carrick-on-Shannon 269 Cloone 250 Limerick Adare 277 Galbally 273 Ardpatrick 270 Longford Newtowncashel 290 Ardagh 269 Abbeyshrule 253 Louth Tallanstown 287 Knockbridge 286 Dundalk 266 Mayo Westport 295 Murrisk 274 Aughagower 272 Meath Moynalty 290 Athboy 253 Trim 251 Monaghan Carrickmacross 279 Glaslough 272 Rockcorry 263 Offaly Clonbullogue 276 Geashill 271 Tullamore 262 Roscommon Keadue 285 Castlecoote 271 Cloontuskert 270 Sligo Ballintogher 252 Coolaney 248 Riverstown 244 Tipperary (N) Birdhill 291 Terryglass 280 Garrykennedy 268 Tipperary (S) Emly 280 Clonmel 268 Kilsheelan 256 Waterford Lismore 291 Stradbally 288 Dungarvan 269 Westmeath Ballinahown 275 Glasson 257 Ballinagore 233 Wexford Craanford 263 Clonroche 254 Rosslare 252 Wicklow Aughrim 294 Stratford-on-Slaney 263 Enniskerry 259
________________________________________________________ SuperValu Endeavour Awards of €650 County Centre Marks % improvement on 2005 Carlow Hacketstown 213 8.12 Cavan Bailieborough 165 11.49 Clare Newmarket-on-Fergus 233 8.37 Cork (North) Banteer 239 8.14 Cork (South) Minane Bridge 196 7.69 Cork (West) Dunbeacon 187 10 Donegal Donegal Town 235 17.5 Dublin (City) Chapelizod 232 11 Dublin (DR) Sandycove 221 15.1 Dublin (Fingal) Sutton 227 8.61 Dublin (South) Terenure 239 10.14 Galway Creggs 208 12.43 Kerry Moyvane 240 11.11 Kildare Kildangan 221 11.62 Kilkenny Dungarvan 209 7.18 Laois Spink 206 7.29 Leitrim Mohill 199 9.94 Limerick Ardpatrick 270 7.14 Longford Cullyfad 205 12.02 Louth Drogheda 245 12.9 Mayo Inishbiggle Island 204 17.92 Meath Trim 251 6.36 Monaghan Drum 202 18.82 Offaly Ferbane 227 10.73 Roscommon Lisacul 211 11.05 Sligo Banada-Tourlestrane 202 14.77 Tipperary (North) Borrisokane 218 10.66 Tipperary (South) Cashel 228 14 Waterford Dungarvan 269 12.08 Westmeath Kinnegad 182 11.66 Wexford Hollyfort 204 16.57 Wicklow Newtownmountkennedy 205 17.14 ________________________________________________________
Additional Awards Best Bring Bank Awards of €1,000 Sponsored by Repak Region Winners Dublin City & County Bring Bank, Raheny Village, Dublin 5 Midlands East Bring Bank, Newtowncashel, Co. Longford North West Bring Bank, Redhills, Co. Cavan Shannon Bring Bank, Mountcollins, Co. Limerick South East Bring Bank, Ballygarrett, Co. Wexford South West Bring Bank, Millstreet, Co. Cork West Bring Bank, Castlecoote, Co. Roscommon _________________________________________________ National Award of €1,000 Bring Bank, Millstreet, Co. Cork ________________________________________________________ Best Shopfront Awards of €1,000 Region Winners Dublin City & County Out of the Blue, Skerries, Co. Dublin Midlands East Athboy Credit Union, Athboy, Co. Meath North West McNello & Co, Inniskeen, Co. Monaghan Shannon Frawley's Pharmacy, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary South East Fitzgerald's, Wexford Town, Co. Wexford South West The White Room, Kenmare, Co. Kerry West Mulrooney's Pharmacy, Mountbellew, Co. Galway _________________________________________________ National Award of €1,000 The White Room, Kenmare, Co. Kerry ________________________________________________________ Landscape Awards of €1,000 Sponsored by the Tree Council of Ireland Region Winners Dublin City & County Coultry Park, Ballymun, Dublin 11 Midlands East The Marshes Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth North West Ballymote Town Park, Ballymote, Co. Sligo Shannon Kilcommon Prayer Garden of Divine Mercy, Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary South East Landscaping throughout Craanford, Co. Wexford South West Casadh na Spride, Béal Átha na Ghaorthaoidh, Co. Corcaí West King House Pleasure Grounds, Boyle, Co. Roscommon ________________________________________________________ National Award of €1,000 King House Pleasure Grounds, Boyle, Co. Roscommon ________________________________________________________ Schools Awards of €750 Region Winners Dublin City & County Portrane Boys' National School, Portrane Road, Donabate Co. Dublin Midlands East Scoil Brighide Buach, Rochfortbridge, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath North West Clones Senior Mixed National School, Clones, Co. Monaghan Shannon Scoil Athain, Lisnagry, Co. Limerick South East Gowran National School, Gowran, Co. Kilkenny South West Mercy Convent School, New Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry West Scoil Rath Aradh, Rahara Road, Athleague, Co. Roscommon ________________________________________________________ National Award of €1,000 Clones Senior Mixed National School, Clones, Co. Monaghan _______________________________________________________ Urban Village Award of €1,000 Applewood Village, Swords,Sponsored by Dulux Paints Ireland Co. Dublin _______________________________________________________ Architectural Award of €1,000 Civic Offices, Tubbercurry, Co. SligoSponsored by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland _______________________________________________________ Promotion of Heritage Award of €1,000 Pearce Road Cemetery, Sligo Town, Sponsored by the Heritage Council Co. Sligo_______________________________________________________ Islands Award of €2,500 Sherkin Island, Co. CorkSponsored by the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs _______________________________________________________ Éadan Siopa Gaelach de €2,000 Teach Tábhairne Uí Dhómhnaill, Sponsored by Foras Na Gaeilge Clashmore, Co. Waterford_______________________________________________________ Sustainable Development Award of €1,000 Carrickmacross Workhouse,Sponsored by Comhar - the National Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan Sustainable Development Partnership _______________________________________________________ Wildlife Award of €1,000 Swan Park Riverside Walk,Sponsored by the Heritage Council Buncrana, Co. Donegal ______________________________________________________ Bilingual Award of €2,500 Clonegal, Co. CarlowSponsored by Foras na Gaelige _______________________________________________________ Gaeltacht Award of €2,500 Carrig Airt, Co. Dún na nGallSponsored by the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs ______________________________________________________ Waterside Award of €1,000 Wetlands Park, Kiltimagh, Co. MayoSponsored by the Heritage Council ______________________________________________________
Ireland's Best Kept Towns 2007 - Nominations (see notes)
Population Category Nominees Category A Birdhill, Co. Tipperary Category B Tallanstown, Co. Louth Category C Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow Category D Kilrush, Co. Clare Category E Dungarvan, Co. Waterford Category F Killarney, Co. Kerry Category G Letterkenny, Co. Donegal Category H Dundalk, Co. Louth
Entente Florale 2007 - Nominations (see notes)Population Category Nominees Category A, B, C, & D Birdhill, Co. Tipperary Category E, F, G & H Killarney, Co. Kerry
City Neighbourhoods Awards (see notes)Main Categories Centre Awards Best Residential Area Suan, Galway €1,000 & Trophy Best Urban Village Ballybricken, Waterford €1,000 & Trophy Best City Street Eyre Square, Galway €1,000 & Trophy _______________________________________________________ National Award of €1,000 Eyre Square, Galway €3,000 & Trophy _______________________________________________________
City Neighbourhoods Special Awards of €500 Best Shopfront Eves Shopfront, Limerick Best Landscaped Open Space Bull Island, Dublin Best Retail Building/Supermarket Brown Thomas, Cork Best Old Building Civic Trust House, Cork Best Modern Building Ballymun Pool, Dublin Best Civic Building Galway Civic Museum, Galway Best Local Park Merrion Square, Dublin Most Attractive Pedestrianised Area Clarion Area, Cork Best Business Park/Industrial Estate Crossagalla Business Park & Enterprise Centre, Limerick Best Maintained Restaurant Forecourt Woodfield House Hotel, Limerick
Westport Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2006 Marks Awarded
Categories Maximum 2006 Overall Developmental Approach 50 48 The Built Environment 50 38 Landscaping 50 39 Wildlife and Natural Amenities 50 28 Litter Control 50 38 Tidiness 30 19 Waste Minimisation 20 11 Residential Areas 40 27 Roads, Streets and Back Areas 50 38 General Impression 10 9 TOTAL MARKS 400 295
Winner's Report Overall Development Approach Despite recent success in TidyTowns, Ireland's Best Kept Towns and Entente Florale, Westport has certainly not rested on its laurels. New developments along with the meticulous maintenance of streetscape and landscape projects continue to raise the standards ever higher. With a committee of 20 ably backed by a further 80 volunteers, Westport TidyTowns is a very effective force at local level, capable of galvanising community support and eliciting the co-operation of many agencies. This coordinated and planned approach is the key to its many successes and a model for others to emulate. The Built Environment The two Churches play a major role in the appearance of Westport's built environment and I'm glad to say they were looking as splendid as ever on adjudication day. The Castlecourt, Plaza, Old Railway and Wyatt Hotels were well presented, and making the most of their prominent location. The area by the leisure centre off James Street has come on well over the years with its Cineplex, Hostel, Garden Centre and Bistro. The new housing at Barrack Yard is very welcome as it will attract even more life into this quarter. The sculpture at the car park creates a good focal point and the stonework structures add style to the complex. Cox’s warehouse has been attractively refurbished, as have many of the buildings along the harbour. The Market Lane area is another fine example of ongoing renewal, not only providing an interesting pedestrian way but also providing a home to so many attractive eateries for residents and visitors alike. Westport boasts many interesting and attractive urban spaces, too many to mention, but I was particularly struck by Lime Court and the small courtyard at Marlene’s Chocolate Haven. The Garda station is, as ever, very crisp in appearance. Landscaping There are many fine examples of landscaping in Westport and the combination of good paving, clean streets and well-planted containers is impressive. The streetscape with trees planted regularly along the sides make an attractive green foil, enhanced by the colourful baskets suspended on the attractive "wire-free" lamp standards. The riverside by the library is a well-managed landscape with a great range of interesting plants and mature trees and the sweep of lawn helps greatly as a backdrop. The large swathe of bedding plants, such as the Marigolds at the Octagon, is perfectly cared for and watering and dead heading was in progress during the visit. The Open Fairgreen at the harbour is another attractive development with well-chosen plants for the lake borders. The grass care and seating here is very appropriate. Mention must be made of the magnificent displays of window boxes at the Old Railway Hotel, the Castlecourt Hotel and the railway station. Some very attractive old Irish Yew trees at the cemetery opposite the Church of Ireland were noted. Wildlife and Natural Amenities The old railway line walk to the harbour is a wonderful amenity, especially where it passes through the rock cutting, festooned with ferns and flourishing shade vegetation. Perhaps some thought could be given to extending this back in towards the town. The Heritage Trail is very impressive, with a fine guidebook containing lots of interesting information to stimulate visitors as they make their way along the trail to Clare Island. The restocking of the river Carrowbeg with brown trout was a very positive approach adopted by the TidyTowns committee and the mallard ducks are a great attraction. In general Westport provides many opportunities for wild life appreciation along the coast by the harbour and at riverside areas and this is an area that can be developed even further in coming years. Litter Control There appears to be a very good management system for the collection of and dealing with litter in the town. The Sunday morning clean up is a laudable exercise and is proving successful with only a small scattering on the roads. In fact, I was impressed to see litter being removed from the river during my visit by a number of people who were wading through the water, rakes in hand. The council were also very active emptying bins and road sweeping as I arrived. The ubiquitous cigarette butts were unfortunately present and some litter was noted under the bridges at the railway walkways. But overall an impressive performance from both the committee and the council. Well done also for working with An Taisce to implement the Eco-Management Auditing System programme in the schools. This is an excellent initiative and should pay huge dividends in future years. Tidiness There is a very high standard of tidiness all through the town and congratulations to everyone involved on achieving this. The organisation of streets and landscape features together with the shopping areas and carparks all combine to present a very tidy picture. One of the highlights of my visit was the sight of a man power-hosing the pavements and walls of the Mall to remove the bird dropping that had landed overnight. This attention to detail, echoed in so many aspects of the committee's work, is what makes Westport such a strong performer in so many competitions. Waste Minimisation The work under this heading is impressive, with over one hundred and sixty businesses in the town already recycling their waste. Well done also on the composting workshops and the work with Rice College promoting the need for waste minimisation. The Sustainable Fair was another excellent event in this regard. As this is a new category in the competition there is plenty of scope for developing even more ideas in future years and the Race Against Waste booklet for communities supplied by the TidyTowns Unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has a number of useful suggestions in this regard. Residential Areas In general, houses are being well maintained; and deserving of special mention are the areas by St. Johns Row, The Elms and Prospect Row. The new development at Railway Walk is an attractive addition to the town, and no doubt further apartment blocks will follow. Progressively changing styles of development are to be welcomed as they add variety and interest to a town's built environment. However, it is important that a watchful eye is kept on planning applications to ensure that new developments don't damage the intrinsic nature of Westport's streetscape and ambience. Housing estates are being well cared for and the residents should be very proud of the contribution they are making both as individuals and in association with their neighbours. Roads, Streets and Back Areas The approach roads to Westport are of a very high standard. The large displays of Begonias, well-maintained grass verges and tree planting on the Dublin Road are especially remarkable and the industrial estate entrance on the Newport road is nicely flanked by forestry. Within the town the roadways are well treated. The greatest difficulty in this respect is with traffic and that permitted parking causes congestion in so many places. Along the Mall for instance, severe congestion was occurring while cars were permitted to park on both sides of the street. The additional pedestrian crossings are very welcome as this town is very much a pedestrians’ town. Footpaths are clean and well marked and the signage is well placed. General Impression: Everywhere one looks in Westport there is an obvious impression of care and attention to detail. It is no wonder it attracts so many visitors, who on the day of adjudication appeared to be really enjoying themselves. Most impressively, the sustainability of these developments augurs well for the future and there is no reason why standards should slip over the coming years. Another wonderful year for Westport; congratulations again to all concerned.
Second Round Adjudication: What a delight to visit Westport for a second adjudication. The town was ablaze with colour from the many flower displays, quality hanging baskets and containers. The wonderful display of trees is credit to your investment of previous years in this area. The town was also spotlessly clean and tidy; an excellent achievement in light of the crowds of visitors present on the day. The outskirts were also being maintained to the same standard. The view of James Street from the Octagon is supreme. Well done on the restoration and improved presentation of many traditional shop fronts in and around the town. Market Lane is a gem and the many excellently presented retail outlets make this location a place of distinction. All approach roads were well presented with tasteful landscaping, good signage and well maintained streetscapes, all combining to provide a welcome introduction to the town. Overall an excellent achievement. Comhghairdeas!
TidyTowns - Analysis by County
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