Charleville Tidy Towns are celebrating on the double this week. On Monday it was announced that in the National Tidy Towns Competition Charleville has won an Endeavour Award valued at €500 for the best improved entry from North Cork. Charleville were awarded an additional 13 marks in this year’s competition which was an amazing achievement. On the previous Thursday Charleville Tidy Towns were awarded a valued Participant Certificate and a cheque for €150 from Cork County Council Anti Litter Competition. Aileen Browne, Tidy Towns secretary expressed her delight with the awards saying that “these awards are accepted by Charleville Tidy Towns on behalf of the many individuals and groups who have done tremendous work over the past 12 month in Charleville”. Over the last year many residence groups have organised clean ups in their estates and many business in the town have played their part with glorious floral displays. Special thanks to John Moloney from Cork County Council for his dedication and commitment to keeping the streets of Charleville clean and to the Tuis and Fas workers for the role they play. Much of the work done by these workers goes unseen and unacknowledged by many so Charleville Tidy Towns would like to recognise their contribution. The Tidy Towns adjudicators visited Charleville on Monday 10th June and travelled around the town, visiting many estates and approach roads, and marked the town based on what they saw and also what was contained within the Charleville Tidy Towns application form. The application form ran over many pages and contained a detailed map of the town and many photos and press clippings highlighting the work that was done in the town from 1st June 2012 – 31st May 2013.
In the Overall Development Section we were awarded an additional 4 marks. The judge commented that the application was ‘beautifully presented’ and that it suggests that there is a real ‘pep in your step’ regarding Tidy Towns in Charleville. “There appears to be a refreshing renewed dynamism with regard to Tidy Towns activities in the town. The ethos of volunteerism you mention raises the spirit of a community group like yours and also improves the community psyche at large. The interaction between Tidy Towns and various other clubs is bound to translate into positive results for you in your planning and activities.”
In the Build Environment Sections we achieved 2 additional marks. The adjudicator was very impressed with the ‘many treasures to savour along the Main St’ and gave special mention to Building proudly displaying the year of construction. Years like 1868, 1839 are still prominent on the fronts of building and are part of the wonderful facades’
In the road, streets and back areas we got an additional 8 marks which is a huge increase. The adjudicator noted that ‘The approach roads to Charleville create an early impression that one is approaching a town with pride in its appearance…… property owners make the approach colourful and interesting with flower and tree planting… Another impressive aspect of the town is the manner in which recent planning and development has provided acres of off street parking with easy access to the Main St and the Towns Park.” Other areas that were complimented by the adjudicator were ‘the laurel hedging at the junction of Main St, ‘the lovely bed as one approaches town on the Limerick Rd’, Well done to St Josephs School where the two Green Flags fluttered proudly in the breeze’ ‘Residence make a great effort to main their properties’ … In estates the standard is generally very high. The adjudicator did highlight some areas for improvement, in particular in the areas of Wildlife and Natural Amenities, Sustainable Waste and Resource Management and Landscaping. The issues noted in the report will be worked on by Charleville Tidy Towns in the coming month. The full report can be downloaded from www.tidytowns.ie .or hard copies are available to collect in Charleville Library. Finally Charleville Tidy Towns would again like to thank everyone who helped us to achieve such a magnificent improvement over the last 12 months and we look forward to working with you all again. For more details about Charleville Tidy Towns please contact Aileen Browne secretary on 086-8145716, email aileenbrowne@yahoo.com or contact any Tidy Towns members.