PRESS RELEASE 6th September 2011
Adjudication Report for Wicklow Town
Wicklow Tidy Towns has been keenly anticipating the results of this years Tidy Towns competition, which were released today, Monday, 5th September 2011. We were delighted to learn that Wicklow Town has, once again, been commended by the judges and has retained its position as the 3rd tidiest town in County Wicklow with a score of 274 points, an increase of 4 points on 2010.
Various groups in the town, including Wicklow Tidy Towns, Wicklow Town Forum, Wicklow Chamber of Commerce and Wicklow Town Council combined their efforts more than ever this year in having the town looking its best. In addition to our usual planting works at Barrow Green, Fitzwilliam Square etc, some new projects were progressed this year including the installation of a new flowerbed at Whitegates with new town signage, the Mall enhancement project and installation of the Town Centre irrigation system, which facilitated the display of colourful hanging baskets on the building facades and street lamps, thereby greatly improving the appeal of the Town Centre.
The judges very much enjoyed their visit to Wicklow Town, describing it as pleasurable experience. They remarked upon the diversity and colour of the shrubs, trees and flowers evident in the town and the great new landscaping in place along The Mall. They also commented on the good level of litter control around the town and were appreciative of our on-going efforts in this regard, in particular our ‘Dog Foul Awareness Week Initiative’ and large scale clean ups organised in conjunction with National Spring Clean week. Residential areas were found to be well presented, with some being described as superbly maintained. Some criticism was focused on unfinished housing estates, however, this is a national problem and is very much outside the control of voluntary groups, such as Tidy Towns. The town centre area was described as a joy to behold and a model of tidiness and the approach roads were deemed ‘welcoming’ with the planting of appropriate trees, shrubs and flowers and neatly mowed grass verges. Finally, the judges acknowledged that Wicklow Tidy Towns Committee is striving hard to present Wicklow Town at its best across all categories in the competition and wished us well for the future.
The committee is extremely pleased with the town’s performance in this years competition. The diverse nature of the competition, with many different judging criteria and categories, means it is a far more comprehensive, accurate and fairer assessment of the town and conveys a far more positive and realistic image. The result is also testament to the hard work, commitment and investment put into the town over the past year and for this we also wish to greatly acknowledge and express our thanks to Wicklow Town Council, Wicklow Town Forum and Wicklow & District Chamber of Commerce for their efforts in enhancing the appearance of the town. We would also like to express our thanks to the various groups who have helped us along the way, including Wicklow & District Lions Club, Parkrite, Supervalu Wicklow, Tesco Wicklow, Wicklow St. Patrick’s Day Committee and, of course, the people of Wicklow Town, whom have generously supported our fundraising initiatives. The committee has many exciting plans and projects in mind, some of which we hope to bring to fruition over the coming year to help further improve on this years result and we look forward to working with the various agencies in the town in doing so.
Finally, we save the best to last! – our hard working volunteers, whom have continued to come out in large numbers week after week. The committee warmly commends and appreciates their diligence & commitment and we hereby express our sincerest thanks to them all.
Wicklow & District Chamber Awards 2010 - 2nd Place awarded to Wicklow Tidy Towns in the Community Services/Sports Award
Picture from left to right: Wicklow Tidy Towns Committee - Merlin Ovington-Secretary, Caroline Lync -Treasurer, Michael Canavan-Chairman & John DeCourcy-Project Manager
National Tidy Towns Awards held in Tallonstown November 2010
Picture from left to right: Ray Kelly, Marketing Director, Supervalu, Caroline Lynch, Wicklow Tidy Towns, Michael Canavan, Wicklow Tidy Towns and Seamus Kirk, T.D. Ceann Comhairle.
Planting at Tesco
Tuesday evening the 22nd June seen the end to the planting around the
town. A wooden boat has been erected on the grass verge outside Tesco
which adds to the entrance of the town.
Stone Bridge and Parnell Bridge Project
The appearance of the main stone bridge in the town was something we wanted to address by installing brackets/frames to facilitate flowers to overhang the river on the bridge itself and on the walls each side of the river between the Stone Bridge and the Parnell Bridge(pedestrian bridge) .....read more
Tree Planting on the Riverwalk
As part of its programme of works for 2010, Wicklow Tidy Towns has planted some broad leaf native Irish trees along the popular Riverwalk. We have also planted some willow trees directly on the riverbank, which will overhang the water and greatly enhance the attractiveness of the area when established. The broad leaf trees, particularly the Sycamore trees, will help facilitate wildlife in the area. Some wildflower seeds were also sewn to add colour. We would encourage the many walkers who use this route to keep and eye on the new trees and report any incidents of vandalism to An Garda Siochana.