Tidy Towns Competition 2015

Adjudication Report

Centre: Kilmacrenan Ref: 977

County: Mark: 222

Category: A Date(s): 19/07/2015

Maximum Mark Mark Awarded 2015

Community Involvement & Planning 60 32 Built Environment and Streetscape 50 30 Landscaping and Open Spaces 50 30 Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities 50 15 Sustainable Waste and Resource Management 50 10 Tidiness and Litter Control 90 45 Residential Streets & Housing Areas 50 32 Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes 50 28 TOTAL MARK 450 222

Community Involvement & Planning / Rannpháirtíocht an Phobail & Pleanáil: Kilmacrenan is very welcome back into the National Tidy Towns Competition after a period of sixteen years it was a great pleasure to adjudicate your village once again! There have been significant changes to the competition since you last entered and it may be necessary for some of the twenty five committee members to review their approach. It is now a requirement to prepare and submit a three or five year plan or plan summary for the village each year of the competition; ideally the plan should be prepared in consultation with the community and stakeholders in the development of Kilmacrenan. Some of the points listed in this and subsequent reports should be incorporated into your plan. In addition a map must be provided showing the location of projects achieved in the current year of entry the projects must be numbered and linked to its description on the entry form; thank you for this year’s map. It is not necessary to submit a lot of support material such as newspaper cuttings and other material. Try to gain the support of all stakeholders in the village and broaden the scope of communication methods to include social media, exhibitions of work achieved and other. Good luck for the future.

Built Environment and Streetscape / An Timpeallacht Thógtha agus Sráid-dreacha: Kilmacrenan’s built environment is attractive with many handsome buildings. The new National School ‘Scoil Cholmcille’ looks really well and it's landscaping was admired. The Church of Ireland premises and grounds look well also. The (old) National School/Pastoral Centre has been recently painted and looks beautiful. The church is nicely presented however its car parking area needs to be lined. The Post Office premises were also admired together with Nora’s. The Mill Bridge Bar and Restaurant on the Ballyboe road looks particularly bad and spoils the streetscape in this section of the village. The Anglers Haven and the Wok Inn need work to their roadside façade as does the Village Court.

Landscaping and Open Spaces / Tírdhreachú agus Spásanna Oscailte: This section is not just about flower displays it is about the greening of the village and enhancing bio-diversity by planting native species. Permanent planting attracts more marks than bedding plants no matter how colourful these may be. It is also necessary to plant with seasonal interest in mind so that the village will look as well in the three other seasons of the year as in the summer. On-going projects of clearing and preparing sites are noted together with plans for the installation of a sculpture. A corner on the right hand side over the bridge could be landscaped.

Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities / Fiadhúlra, Gnáthóga agus Taitneamhachtaí Nádúrtha: The car park as the sports grounds is unattractive in appearance and some litter was noted here (mostly plastic bottles). Better enclosure is suggested (hedgerow) for the playing fields which features a poor quality wire & post fencing. The graveyard beside the National School is neatly presented. The banks of both rivers might be incorporated into Tidy Towns plans; their wildlife status needs be established by survey, perhaps this could be undertaken with an input from the schools as a project. The county council Environmental Officer may be able to advise. You are referred to the Tidy Towns Handbook also for guidelines on how to get started. fencing. The graveyard beside the National School is neatly presented. The banks of both rivers might be incorporated into Tidy Towns plans; their wildlife status needs be established by survey, perhaps this could be undertaken with an input from the schools as a project. The county council Environmental Officer may be able to advise. You are referred to the Tidy Towns Handbook also for guidelines on how to get started.

Sustainable Waste and Resource Management / Bainistiú Acmhainní agus Dramhaíola Inbhuanaithe: The recycling point appears to enjoy good maintenance (located across from the thatched cottage development). Congratulations to school children for the schools Green Flag status. The committee might now register with greenhomes.ie and log onto http://localprevention.ie/tidy-towns/ to benefit from the experience of similar communities. The overall goal is waste prevention at source, recycling is just one element of sustainable waste and resource management. Consult the Tidy Towns Handbook for more ideas on how to compete under this heading; the following might also be helpful; Any initiatives that make less waste; use less water, less energy or less materials; reuse, upcycle, repair, swap, exchange, restore; new life for old goods by the community, householders, businesses, schools, with the local authority, or other organisations is desirable and eligible for adjudication. Use the “Greener Gardening” guide in your Tidy Towns activities www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/waste/wpp/greenergardening.html Introduce the “greener cleaning” guide into the community www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/waste/wpp/greenercleaning.html Help green your local festival or event For more information visit: http://greenyourfestival.ie/ Food Waste Prevention Activities www.stopfoodwaste.ie Hold a’ Water Saving Awareness’ Night Other ideas Green the TT ‘office’ activities, e.g. print double sided; use online promotion instead of printed materials; use recycled paper; don’t use disposable cups and cutlery at meetings

Tidiness and Litter Control / Slachtmhaireacht agus Rialú Bruscair: Litter control is strong in Kilmacrenan and tidiness is good overall too. Problems noted include weed growth along curbs and the base of the wall at Fields Court residential and an overgrown site at Massreagh. A low rusted roof to a lock-up premises needs attention as does a derelict cottage on the Ballyboe Road. And old lock-up premises and it's curtilage area located on the entrance to the village badly needs some work, The rusted trailer should be removed also (about 100m before the name sign). Old service poles and overhead service cables are unattractive as street lighting is accommodated on contemporary lamp standards maybe these can be removed.

Residential Streets & Housing Areas / Sráideanna Cónaithe & Ceantair Tithíochta: The thatched cottage development is charming. The Fields Court development looks well also. Hedgerow and trees in the Lennen View estate will encourage wildlife.Ard na Glaise estate looks well also with its maturing trees. Both the Racecourse and the Rosemount estate look quite well and the latter is nicely landscaped. Milltown Court residential is presented to a reasonably good standard. There are many well presented and attractive residential properties on the Ballyboe Road and neatly trimmed hedgerow is an attractive feature. The Oak Lee Estate on the Kilconnell Road enjoys an excellent presentation and a residential property at a fork in the road on the Road is beautifully painted, its taupe colour is appealing. Rosemount estate looks very pleasant Stone boundary wall to residential properties on the entrance are a handsome feature. Hopefully the problem of the unfinished 2/3 story residential on Church Hill will be resolved.

Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes / Bóithre Isteach, Sráideanna & Lánaí: An attractive name plate, verges, hedge row and trees feature on the Letterkenny entrance to Kilmacrenan. The name-plate on the Milford Road is totally swallowed by the foliage. The river name plates are good and the bridge walls are being nicely maintained. An excellent presentation has been achieved for the Kilconnell Road in respect of road and footpath surfaces and street lighting. The Ballyboe road is badly surfaced and a Stop sign at the junction of the Milford and Kilconnell roads needs to be both realigned and cleaned. The Dunfanaghy end of the village is still a work in progress in respect of road surfacing et cetera. The hard shoulder is quite potholed. It is important to maintain all street furniture clean and freshly painted.

Concluding Remarks: There is pleanty of scope to improve performance under Sustainable Waste and Resource Management; start small and where possible measure and report savings and reductions no matter how small. We are delighted to have back into the competition.