WEXFORD TIDY TOWNS RESULTS AND REPORTS

residents to keep their properties in presentable condition. Your efforts deserve an increase in marks.

Approach Roads, Street and Lanes:

Ah the red upturned barrel referred to in last year’s report is still upturned and this adjudicator cottoned on to the quirky idea eventually – a bit slow on the uptake that evening!

One of the roads into the village at the bridge was blocked on that particular evening and this has been mentioned in a previous section. No doubt all has been sorted since then. I agree with the lobbying for 50km signs on some of the smaller entries into Village.

Not pleasant to see a large Tractor and Silage Harvester coming at you at the rate of knots with a young lad driving with one hand and a mobile phone in the other.

All signage was clean and visible. The adjudicator is impressed with your idea of how the field hedges could be adapted, if this is the correct term, to allow for greater biodiversity. Overall the standard was very good. Concluding Remarks:

It was good to return to Blackwater after an absence of many years and to see the positive changes that have occurred in those intervening years. You have a strong Tidy Towns ethos and this is reflected in the buy in from the local community. You are wished well for the future.

BRIDGETOWN 2018 Mark - 251 (242 in 2017) Category B

Community - Your Planning and Involvement:

Cuireann an moltoir seo failte roimh Bridgetown (Baile an Drochid) chuig Comortas na mBailte Slachtmhara Super Valu 2018 agus chuig Ceiliuradh 60 Bliainan Chomortais. Thank you for your excellent entry form and the accompanying map which was more than useful to this adjudicator on his first visit to Bridgetown. Your committee of 9 and the volunteer core of an additional 15is more than sufficient for the work you undertake on behalf of Tidy Towns.

Well done on your three-year plan which on reading offers a clear plan of action up to 2019. Since Bridgetown entered the competition 4 years ago it has made good progress and this year is no different. The adjudicator is impressed with your methods of communication and with the introductory flyer outlining your activities to new residents that might be coming to live in the village or the outskirts. Your praise for the specific teacher in the local secondary school is noted and it is so important to get school children of certain age groups interested in the welfare of your fine village. Well done on winning the endeavour award some years back and also 3rd prize in the Keep Wexford Beautiful competition.

The reference to Moyross is actually quite gratuitously insulting, maybe unintentionally so, and should not have been put into the entry form. Doesn’t say too much about the journalist who wrote the original piece. As somebody who has worked and mentored people in projects in Moyross I can vouch for the integrity, intelligence and the enthusiasm of the greater community in that area and of course one of Ireland’s greatest sporting ambassadors came from the said community!! It’s not right that a few bad dogs give the whole pack a bad name. Anyway that comment will not reflect negatively on my judging of your village, you can rest assured that it will be fair and objective. For efforts in relation to the development of a three-year plan an additional mark is awarded. Just be careful with the use of throwaway anecdotal comparisons in future entry forms.

Streetscape & Public Places: The work that you have undertaken in this category and recorded in the pictorial records has been visited and noted. The refurbishment and facelift of the impressive and historical Ancient Order Of Hibernian hall is an excellent example of volunteer and business collaboration in the Village. The Mill is a similar joint effort with Wexford County Council coming on board by providing materials. Similarly the camouflaging and boarding of the derelict house is another form of good community effort. The following are few observations that this adjudicator made on his walkabout: Kilmore Sea Fresh premises is nice, bright and tidy and the owner was just shutting up shop on the evening in question. Colaiste Baile An Drochid is a fine educational establishment of contemporary design which obviously caters for pupils from surrounding areas. Some of Bus Parking road space markings have faded and need to be re marked.

One presumes that that is one for Wexford County Council. It is hard to walk the bridge as the road is narrow but a narrow walk path in sandstone colour should be considered. Tallanstown in County Louth has a similar kind of bridge and has this type of walk way in place. Molly and Dolly’s Tea room is quite attractive in design unfortunately it was closing for the day. The Bargy Bar was well presented as was McDonnell’s Service Station,Bridie’s Shop and Bar,Centra and Bridgetown Pharmacy which were situated in the “newer” part of the village. The Wexford Minions are very novel and a good uses of old tyres that were dumped. The excellent new footpath providing extra safe access and colourful street seating were also admired. Overall the standard in this category merits an increase of an additional mark.

Green Spaces and Landscaping:

The Big Field Project was visited and the work noted which was of high quality, so well done on to all involved. Some fine individual gardens with both annuals and perennial shrubs were admired but unfortunately as result of the unprecedented period of dry and sunny weather some plants and shrubs were struggling because of lack of water and nutrients. I would think that there is far more potential for the village in this category and the committee should consider getting advice from the County Horticultural Section on additional planting now that you are embarking on a 3 year plan. For the additional project that you have created and the continuance of the maintenance work that you are doing an additional mark has been awarded.

Housing estates in the village can be included in these landscaping plans.

Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality:

The key components of this adjudication category are a) knowledge of local species and habitats and knowledge of local designated areas and b) being able to promote the knowledge gained to the local community and the passing visitor in format that would be easily accessed such as wildlife information boards in a central location. Good wildlife advice and communication of the importance of the local wildlife heritage to the local community is so important. Being aware of invasive and possible destructive plants such as Japanese knot weed,of which you are, is also essential. The adjudicator has started with a general comment but the specifics that relate to your village are contained in your entry in this category.

The small garden amenity at the bridge and river was very much admired and it certainly is a little haven of tranquillity. For next year the Committee should consider one specific project in this category that will impact on the locals and visitors alike. There is plenty advice out there is just a matter of seeking it out. Consult www.biodiversityireland.ie for additional information and ideas.

Sustainability - doing more with less:

The objective in this category has moved on from one of reduce reuse and recycle to one of promoting the concept of reducing the production of potential waste at source such as excessive packaging. ‘Doing more with less’ is a very apt. The practical benefits of good waste management and control of unnecessary production will be seen as a major contribution to a better environment. The projects you have mentioned have been replicated around the country especially in the last few years since communities became more familiar with the category objectives. The adjudicator hopes that you have the resources to manage what you have in a sustainable manner. The idea of a lawnmower lending scheme is quite novel to this adjudicator but effective if it encourages residents to keep gardens cut and tidy. To get more out of this sector in terms of creating even a greater awareness of a more sustainable environment consider looking at the following websites for idea generation www.localprevention. ie ,www.greenhomes.ie and www. sustainableprocessing.ie

Also something that this adjudicator became aware of during last year’s adjudication is the circular economy. It is a bit too long to explain the concept in detail in this report, but if you access the following www.dccae.gov.ie you will get a pretty good idea of what it’s all about. The idea of what is called a linear economy of ‘take, make and waste’ is now being seen as not sustainable and alternatives need to be found. Tidiness and Litter Control: You have acted on the suggestions of last year as field gates viewed were newly painted but the adjudicator forgot to visit the abandoned property at St David’s Well Estate. We have seen the pictorial evidence and your word is your bond. A suggestion to provide native hedging is a good idea but this falls within the landscaping section. The village had very little litter on the day in question and the work that you r volunteer litter pickers are doing has to be lauded. It’s not easy to truck around the village and its surrounds doing the above and cutting verges on the outskirts as well. Life does live on the edge indeed. The adjudicator is curious to know what is the status of the old premises at Duncormick/ Murntown Junction? Finally well done on the actions taken to reduce the use of gum and to dispose of it appropriately when used.

Residential Streets and Housing Areas:

Well done to the residents of the Lakelands Estate on winning the Best Estate Award Wexford District last year. Having walked through the estate the adjudicator can vouch that it was certainly well deserved. Hazelwood was well maintained and the few broken trees mentioned in last year’s report seemed to have been replaced. The idea for a specific wildlife project for the green areas in Hazelwood should be considered for next year as part of any additional plans under Nature and Biodiversity. Overall the standard was good and it’s encouraging to see home owners doing their bit for the village and helping it to improve and gain additional marks in the competition.

Concluding Remarks:

It was this adjudicator’s first visit to Bridgetown and he certainly wasn’t disappointed

It was a most pleasant visit to the village on very South East of the County

The village has lots to offer and with the same enthusiasm and commitment that the committee has shown over the last few years it will do very well in the competition. You are wished well in future years ahead.

DUNCORMICK

2018 Mark - 310 (+8) Category A

Community - Your Planning and Involvement:

Cuireann an moltóir seo fáilte roimh Dún Chormaic chuig Comórtas na mBailte Slachtmhara SuperValu 2018 agus chuig Ceiliúradh 60 Bliain an Chomórtais.

Your hand drawn map indicating general points of interest in the village and specific areas you wish to bring to the adjudicators attention, was useful on the day. You have 18 busy members on your committee who are representative of your community, a great turn out for your small village. You enjoy practical and economic support from both local agencies, local businesses and local people to assist your works.

A special thank you to the O’Briens who donate food for your events, an army really does march on it stomach, and this is a great way to show support for your work. You seem to have an effective communication network established and we read with interest the village Action Group’s notices on your board at the entrance to St Clomauns Way.

Well done in how proactive you have been in involving the local school children from Rathanagan NS and Danescastle NS in your work and your interaction with their Green School activities. We hope to see progress on joint projects with the schools in the coming years give that you have committee members closely associated with the schools.

We are glad to hear that your relatively recent engagement with the Tidy Towns and participating in the competition has been so fruitful for your community and hope it encourages and facilitates discussion around common community issues as well as improving the quality of your local environment. Keep up the good work.

Streetscape and Public Places: We must congratulate you on the sensitive treatment of your historic buildings which, although not grand or of a dominant scale, are non the less such a lovely feature of your rural village. The steps to the entrance of St Peter Church and churchyard are a lovely set piece with vehicular access form the Rectory Grove Road. The signage stone at the Old Courthouse was seen and admired as it did not detract from the frontage here.

Once again Sinnotts with its wonderful thatched roof is a gem in the village. We recognise the difficultly you have with addressing the empty premises in the village and as you say you can only do your best. Dead plants to the forecourt planters at Scaville Lodge were looking tired and would be better left empty if plants are not maintained.

We were sorry to see your local shop no longer in use. Is this a spot you intend to place your upcycled planter? The wall shrubs to the boundary wall and fence at Brogan’s softens it frontage when viewed from the road. The forecourt of the old National School is also much cluttered with parked cars which is a shame. The nice engraved stone indicting the site of the old school is a nice touch. Do you know if there is a need for bicycle racks in the village, either for school children, locals or increasing numbers of passing cyclists? Is there a demand at the riverside walk or by the green where the outdoor seating areas were well presented and neat?

Green Spaces and Landscaping:

Thank you for including the photograph of the daffodils on the Carrick road as it allows us see the interest you are taking in providing year round colour in the village. It is important for communities not to focus all of their attention on annual bedding but to focus on long term structure planting of trees and remember to replace any that fail in the next season. This is a great approach for you to take with your recent replacing of trees at the roadside wall.

Also schedule your tree planting so it coincides with National Tree Week, run by the Tree Council of Ireland. This can help you gain support and local press coverage for your tree planting event. Shrub component of the roadside beds and the path side bed opposite the garage will also give year round interest to the streets. Pathside tub planters in the village core were in keeping with scale of the village and did not impede pedestrian movement. The use of fuchsia is a good way to add a touch of colour here but also provide food for pollinators and is in keeping with your aims to keep the ethos of the All Ireland Pollinator plan in mind when addressing this category.

The painted water pump and whitewashed cottage open space was looking well. We weren’t sure how to access the peace garden unfortunately as the steps from the roadside, past the bridge, did not look like the correct route with the railings here in poor repair. With the cars parked by the bridge access wasn’t clear to this visitor.

Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality:

Well done on your wildlife habitat survey completed this year. This is a really important piece of work in gaining an understanding of the types and quality of the natural habitats surrounding your lovely riverside setting. We were very impressed with the quality of this piece of work. Its presentation using aerial photographs really grounded the findings in your village setting and we hope it has been widely distributed. This has gained you marks in this category. Build on this piece of work by developing a habitat management plan detailing the aims and objectives for each of the 11 habitat types identified. (Although not included in the report remember that our gardens can be important habitats too). This then allows you prioritise your works and helps put into immediate effect any changes to your landscape management as required.

We were not surprised to see that the most important habitats in the village are clustered around the River Muck. The river walk at St Clomauns Way was a delight with the picnic tables occupied on the day giving a great view of a heron on the river.

The woodland planted here is now getting to a stage that it may require thinning. Tree thinning can make your forest a richer and more diverse place and you may need to remove the gorse which is invading in places. Perhaps this can be one of the management objective considered going forward. Well done in you progress in this category and keep up the momentum.

Sustainability - doing more with less:

Congratulations on your school’s successful participation in the Green Schools scheme and the use of the funds from their clothes collection to have ‘no junk mail’ signs made was a great idea. This participation by the children in the Green Schools gives your community a head start in addressing waste and sustainably issues in a practical focussed manner as lesson learnt in school can be brought back to children homes.

To follow on from the success of your quilt made from recycled material, how about establishing a book swap system in the village, use a spare shelf in the church or school for this. These are all practical measures to address this category, reduce waste and encourage the reuse of items. You have a very proactive approach to tacking this category from your proposed water butts (we hope to see this in place for next year) to establishing your compost area and your new mulching mower. For further advice we would encourage you to consult the Tidy Towns handbook and also to visit http://localprevention.ie/tidy-towns/ . The Local Prevention website have added a specific ‘Tidy Towns’ page to their website so you can see what waste prevention projects have been done by other similar groups around the country.

There are various case studies to learn from with practical tips, advice, free downloads of brochures etc. This is a great resource to gain advice on how to address this category. Tidiness and Litter Control: There was no obvious litter noticed in the village core on adjudication day so well done in upholding your standards in this category. The work of all your