Strat for dare Tidy Towns champs again

September 1995

WEST Wicklow celebrated two decades of Tidy Towns success this week when the scenic village of Stratford-on-Slaney took the County title for the 20th successive year.

Stratford obtained a total of 197 marks out of a possible 240 - an increase of five marks on last year’s total, but only one mark ahead of the marks achieved by the village of Aughrim.

However, the Stratford Tidy Towns Committee is quietly confident of holding on to its county crown and is planning to launch an all-out offensive on the regional and national titles in the near future, according to committee chairman Hugh O’Keeffe.

‘We would be very hopeful of maintaining that lead and what we are aiming for now is to make a bold bid within the next couple of years for the national award,’ he said.

To this end, the Stratford committee has systematically tackled each of the ‘ black spots’ identified in the village by the Tidy Towns judges over the last few years.

The committee are now working in conjunction with RTE gardener, Gerry Daly, in a bid to achieve a planting scheme which will enhance the village and returns it to its natural appearance.