New Tidy Towns group float ideas

NOW is the chance for residents to make a difference and protect the identity of their locality with Haggardstown undergoing great change.

A rallying call has been issued to support a new Tidy Towns initiative for the area with a formation meeting organised for Tuesday, April 27th at 7pm.

Shane McGuinness, who is spearheading the drive to help establish the branch, explained the reasons behind it.

‘Being from this parish and living here for over 46 years, I have seen at first hand the wonderful work the Blackrock Tidy Towns have done in the village, and I feel that Haggardstown is in great need of a tidy towns committee.

‘I felt it was the right time to try and set the committee up. I would not like it to become an area that is so built up and becomes really a part of the urbanisation that is Dundalk.’

What was a small community of 400 to 500 inhabitants with a rural character is undergoing a large transformation with largescale housing development that has seen the population soar to an estimated 4,000.

Shane pin-pointed a number of issues that could be addressed: Litter and the provision of bins along the busy walkways and roads; Erection of dog waste bins; Floral displays at roundabouts; Entrance signage to the area; Attention to new roads and the naming of same; Lighting up Dunmahon castle; Chapel road and the impact that the new factories are causing.

Shane also feels an area that really needs work carried out is the Chapel pass/walkway over the clump. It requires re-surfacing and cleaning up and potentially some lighting.

Those behind the move to start a branch have the interests of the area at heart to make it an even nicer place in which to live.

A small clean up of litter will take place on Saturday 17th April, with volunteers asked to meet at the Geraldines at 10.30am and potentially meet once a fortnight for two hours thereafter.

Anybody in the locality interested in joining this new and vibrant association is asked to please email Haggardstowntidytowns@gmail.com or phone Shane 087-7993582.

The meeting on April 27th will be conducted virtually via webinar and all are welcome to attend.