WEXFORD TIDY TOWNS RESULTS AND REPORTS

you. The dry stone wall here on both sides is also worth highlighting. There was some ivy overgrown on the left hand side. The new ‘Thank You for Your Visit’ sign did look well. Unfortunately the donkeys were not noticed! The shrubbery planting at the Campus petrol station is well maintained, leading onto the impressive roundabout planting. The signs were clean and visible.

The road in from the Burrow was in need of repair. There are a lot of potholes here. Concluding Remarks: Rosslare is really embracing the Tidy Towns competition and the results are there for all to see. We hope you enjoy your annual and much-celebrated thank you party that is open to all. You have much to celebrate.

ROSSLARE HARBOUR 2018 Mark - 308

(295 in 2017) Category C

Community - Your Planning and Involvement:

Cuireann an moltóir seo fáilte roimh Rosslare Harbour (Cuan Ros Láir) chuig Comórtas na mBailte Slachtmhara SuperValu 2018 agus chuig Ceiliúradh 60 Bliain an Chomórtais.

It is testament to the esteem that you are held in your community that you can look to such great voluntary support from tradesmen such as carpenters, painters, electricians, construction operatives etc. Twenty people who turn out on a regular basis is a sizeable number for a town of your size. While this group carries out much of the work it is great to see you linking in with so many different bodies and agencies. You highlight how not all of these are for funding, but vary from resources, advice planning and design. You really have a great array of skills available at your disposal. Harnessing those skills must have been a great part of you winning first place in the category of best community coastal management initiative at the Wexford County Council environmental awards in 2017. While there are many are giving of their time to your projects it was inspiring to see three generations of two families, the Barry and Comerford families taking over responsibility for patches of the village park.

While we commend your submission for the vast amount of work that obviously went into it, you can still do less work here for the same result. All that is needed under each category is:

-Name of the project -List of participants (whether this if your own group, school, scouts group etc.)

-Date of start and finish -A few bullet points to summarise what achieved.

-Photos. These really can replace a thousand words. “Before” and “After” photos can be used to great effect.

Your new project of encouraging local preschool with visits to the village park and your link up with transition year students working for the Gaisce Presidents award will ensure that there are many more people in your community to assist in your work for years to come. Your community came together to great effect to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tuskar Air Disaster. Your teamwork provided a fitting tribute for the day and as a legacy for the future.

Streetscape and Public Places:

The many improvements you implemented to your cliff walk are to be commended. The path is wide, clear and facilitates access for all. We followed the walk you recommended for adjudication and we are glad that others get to witness the beauty of this place. The panoramic views across the sea are simply breath taking.

For future projects (resource and time permitting), please look to cleaning and in some cases mending of some of the seating areas. (We do realise that the winter of last year could have caused some of this damage.) The exception to this was the nicely maintained seat at the statue with the very useful aspect of having the seat facing in the different directions depending on the visitors preference.

The canons here were also noteworthy, but were in need of some preservation. Your area is not alone in experiencing the phenomenon of derelict buildings. Your continued effort’s in improving the facades of derelict buildings was observed especially at the dispensary with the bright seats outside. From your submission we are also aware of the work you put into ensuring owners and relevant bodies are kept aware of their responsibilities of the upkeep of these buildings. According to the 2017 adjudication report the hostel was derelict. While structurally you say it was in a bad state , the exterior now looks pleasing, and it fits in well beside the community garden, which is no mean feat considering the standard of the garden. The extension of toilet facilities at Apparatus house to provide facilities to your members carrying out their work is finished to a very high standard. Finishing this off with the same colour as the original building ensures that it blends in well.

The work on upgrading of the Railway Social Club building was admired. The National School at Kilrane is a substantial building and well maintained.

Green Spaces and Landscaping:

Where do we start with your village park? Our National Flag which is heisted daily by a community member was flying proudly and draws the eye for someone approaching. Your improvements in this park should be a project that will ensure a wonderful legacy of your work for many years to come. Creating social spaces are so important in order to provide areas for the community to engage with each other. This was borne out in your notable increase in activity in the village park following the addition of the mosaic seating and sensory garden.

Incorporating your “Circle of Friends” theme is a lovely sentiment as is the reflection of your maritime theme in the new ship wheel area. Your Mosaic Seating project was enhanced by the photos of the various stages of the project. It was so impressive to view the work involved, especially to appreciate the work that went into applying each individual tile. The finished product is remarkable. The matching tiles on the grey concrete of the flower bed opposite the seat drew the whole area in together. The wind chimes add an interesting texture to the garden. The stone bird “drinking” from the small bird bath was being talked about and admired by children in the garden during adjudication. Kirwans Garden is quite simply spectacular. We couldn’t do it more justice than the sign at the entrance that proclaims “Since 1980, a local amateur gardener Seamus Kirwan has lovingly reclaimed and developed this area into what is it now, a mature and informal garden of great beauty and birdsong, each season bringing new colour and wonder”.

Around every corner there was a new fantastic discovery. Your updated Fairy Village you say encourages the children to bring more adults back to visit. We will deal with more of this area under the Wildlife category, but we wanted to assure you of the admiration we have for this amazing public space. Just when you thought there couldn’t be anything different the imagination of someone was let loose to amazing effect in another area.

It was unfortunate that your work to make the willow structure more wheelchair accessible and adding more tyres to sit on could not be utilised due to broken glass, but this did not take from the overall area. The grass area of the church grounds on the left was well tended, as were the bushes on the right hand side along with some nice planting to the front. However overall more softening is needed here. Your photos showed the work you have put into the Viewing Point. It demonstrates the power of weather last winter to see the picnic table now. You will still get the credit for this and the other work.

Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality:

You highlighted the new flora and fauna sign near the beach carpark. The bright purple signage in Kirwans garden at intervals drew attention, Birds of the area, Butterflies and Moths, Wetland Flora & Fauna. These are very well designed and informative. The Bug hotels abound in Kirwans garden, including one that claimed to be reviewed on Trip Advisor! The Bug Bee & Bee was very amusing. The sense of fun that is created here must open up the conversation to the younger generation as to why it is important to create habitats.

While there was a designated bio diversity area sign posted, the whole area is a haven for pollinators and insects. Your maintenance and creation of wildflower beds throughout the various sections of Kirwans Garden, such as at Peter’s Garden is wonderful. Doyle’s stumpery and other areas are more than willing to welcome all creatures. We glimpsed your nursery area used for trees and whips donated to the group by the county council in a back garden off the garden. You are fortunate to have use of this space. The collection of wildflower seeds from existing plants in the autumn to sow in the spring is to be commended. Sewing wildflower seeds that are native to your area are much more effective in helping the pollinators as part of a bio diversity plan.

While the beauty of the place was admired it is important to continue your effort’s to eradicate the Japanese knot weed with the help of the county council. It was noted in your email to the new owners of the IIA site that you outlined their responsibilities for hedge cutting and included the fact that this had to be done within the hedge cutting season. Thank you for including the list of project from Kilrane national school projects for their green flag on bio diversity.

WELLINGTONBRIDGE 2018 Mark - 253

(249 in 2017)

Community - Your Planning and Involvement:

Cuireann an moltoir seo failte roimh Wellingtonbridge (Droichead Eoin) chuig Comortas na mBailte Slachtmhara Super Valu 2018 agus chuig Ceiliuradh 60 Bliainan Chomortais. Thank you for the completed entry form outlining your work and for the excellent map of the village which was very helpful to the adjudicator. This is the third year of entry for the village and steady progress has been made since then.

The village is a very busy one especially during the summer season and on the day in question the local traffic was extremely heavy. The committee of 11 and the volunteer core of 10 is sufficient to carry out your work but the adjudicator wonders if

you have a 3-4 person executive that oversees the ongoing activities?

Its important also that you devise a three-year plan which will give you achievable objectives and tasks that can be done

over the time line of this plan. This was suggested in last year’s report so maybe in 2019 you will be in a position to produce even a straight-forward one or two page document. Consider consulting with the relevant section of Wexford Co Co to get advice on what is required for such a plan and how you can get further resource support.

Your methods of communication are a mix of the traditional such as a newsletter and the various forms of social media such as What’s App and Facebook. The last entry in the Facebook page was on the 21st June which was relatively recent but it is important to note that for best outcomes from this medium one has to update at least every other day.

Thanks for your endorsement of the competition and what it means to the local community.

Streetscape and Public Places: The standard in this category was quite good with the Committee taking e action in relation to a number of derelict sites and one building resulting in positive outcomes. It is amazing what transformation a coat of paint can bring about and the particular building,which has a strong link with a past era in the village, looked very well on the day.

One empathizes with you on joining the “queue” for funding but hopefully those improvements sought by the committee will come to fruition as crossing the road in Wellingtonbridge on a busy summers evening is quite challenging especially if one is not as fleet of foot as of yore.

The following are a few observations that the adjudicator made during his walkabout.

Road markings in certain parts of the village have faded and again this is the responsibility of the Wexford County Council so one assumes that it’s join the queue for action to be taken. Road surfaces were good also and the village was not encumbered with overhead wiring to any great degree. Too many random advertising signs were noted at certain businesses in the village and many of these looked garish and gave an impression of clutter.

On the positive side of the equation the following busi- nesses were presented to a high standard: Tir Na nOg Public house which was quite tidy and had seating at the side for patrons, the Cafe further on down the road is a homely premises where one can get a nice coffee or indeed a takeaway.

Costcutter and Q Oil Service Station, whilst busy, had a tidy forecourt and orderly shop. Supervalu is a rather big establishment for a small village but it must have a large catchment area to cater for. It was very well run and had some nice planting arrangements in off the main car park to the the store. Wallace General Merchants and Department Store were also very well presented on the day as well and it looks like Wallace is the predominant name when it comes to the commercial activity of the Village.

The Men’s Shed building is probably in need of a coat of paint. Some very fine private residences were observed on the outskirts of the village as well. The Railway Station is a link with a past and busy era in Wellington Bridge when transporting beet to sugar factories was the order of the day and it is good that you got a positive outcome to the issue in relation to the old station master’s house.

An additional mark has been awarded for the work you have done in relation to getting owners of derelict buildings to improve their respective premises.

Green Spaces and Landscaping:

The standard of landscaping and planting arrangements seen was quite good with room for further work to be carried out in different parts of the village. I think that you should pursue that landscaping plan that you have mentioned in the entry form as the village would benefit from a more coordinate to landscaping and planting. Professional advice and help is the key here and maybe within your community there is a landscape business that could be approached to help you in this regard.

The two new cycle stands and stone seat installed at Home Pace restaurant were noted and these add to the existing seating that is available on the green area opposite the main stores. This area seems to be popular for people to relax and take time out. Supervalu have a very nicely designed planting area with timber fence back ground as one enters the store.

Some very fine private gardens were viewed primarily on the outskirts of the village. An additional mark has been awarded for your efforts.

Nature and Biodiversity in your locality:

The objective in this category is to create an awareness of the wildlife habitats that exist in ones town or village. How to promote these habitats as conservation areas is the key to success in the category. You are fortunate that you have such a myriad natural wildlife habitats all around you in Wellingtonbridge and as a committee you have the opportunity over the next few years to tap into and maximise the potential that exists.

The adjudicator was most impressed with the action that has been taken by Wexford County Council in relation to the inspection of septic tanks within a certain distance of such a natural resource as the Corach River and the Little Sea Estuary. One presumes that the inspection rectified any problems that may have arose with these private septic tanks.

It is good to note that you are about to embark on a plan that will create a walk way for the benefit of both visitor and

locals alike. I would suggest that you incorporate this into the overall three-year plan and maybe do a mini feasibility re: the cost and impact on existing wildlife that this development would have.

If you get to the stage of doing a specific survey of the varying species of wildlife and insects that inhabit the area do

involve the local school children. If you have not done so already, appoint a committee member to liaise with the Principal and teachers of the school.

Sustainability - Doing more with less:

The objective of this category is reduce the production of unnecessary waste at source thus creating less dependence on recycling and the use of landfill which will not become a viable option in the very near future. Doing more with less” is a very apt title heading for this category. The practical benefits of good waste management and control of unnecessary production will be seen as a major contribution to a better environment.

The initiatives that you have listed under this category fit within the objectives of category. Some have been replicated around the country especially in the last few years since communities became more familiar with the category objectives.

Interesting to note that service station has a vapour recovery system in place.

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. Ideas generated from this exercise can be passed on to the greater community. Tidiness and Litter Control: The standard in this category was to say the least at best a little mixed on what was a busy and very hot summer’s evening.

As mentioned elsewhere there were too many indiscriminate advertising signs on walls and where did people get the notion that putting these type of sign on trees was a good idea? Our trees form a big part of both village and urban landscapes and in Wellingtonbridge you are blessed to have such a complement of trees as one enters and also in the core of the village. They are not meant to be used as advertising poles.

The adjudciator understands your frustration with the parking situation and witnessed it for himself. Hopefully the County Council will implement whatever parking plan it has for the village. The Bring Bank was not too bad as only one loose bag of rubbish was seen on the day.