Tidy Towns Competition 2016 Adjudication Report Centre: Athlone Ref: 234 County: Westmeath Mark: 294 Category: G Date(s): 04/07/2016 Maximum Mark Mark Mark Awarded 2015 Awarded 2016 Community Involvement & Planning 60 45 46 Built Environment and Streetscape 50 40 42 Landscaping and Open Spaces 50 41 43 Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities 50 35 36 Sustainable Waste and Resource Management 50 13 14 Tidiness and Litter Control 90 43 45 Residential Streets & Housing Areas 50 33 35 Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes 50 31 33 TOTAL MARK 450 281 294 Community Involvement & Planning / Rannpháirtíocht an Phobail & Pleanáil: Welcome Athlone to the 2016 Tidy Towns Competition as your involvement is appreciated. Your hard-working committee of seven members has a very professional and organised approach to the competition and this perhaps provides an explanation for your continuing success. It is great to see that your committee is committed to working with other voluntary groups in your town and that you act as an umbrella group for the Athlone Canal Amenity Group, the No. 1 Battery Conservation Group, the 2016 Commemorative Committee, the Coosan Development Group, Bat Conservation Ireland and the National Park and Wildlife Services. A good number of voluntary groups have supported you in your work and it is great to see that your committee is inclusive and that attempts are made to involve everyone in your projects. Your links with statutory and other organisations are impressive and the support of Athlone Municipal District is particularly acknowledged. However, the contribution of the National Learning Network, the Probation Services, St Hildas, Waterways Ireland, the commercial garden centres and the parishes of the town is also significant. It is great to see that you attract the support of many businesses in the town and this is not surprising as it is likely that they appreciate the great work that you do and the improvements that you make to the appearance of all parts of Athlone. We were delighted to read that the businesses are now establishing their own litter action team and we look forward to hearing more details on this in 2017. We were pleased to read about the destination initiative for Athlone and we hope that this will lead to further improvements in the town. Your communication strategy is very good as it draws on all available methods of communication and it may offer another reason why your projects continue to be so successful. However, given the well developed nature of your communication strategy, we wondered if you had considered the idea of moving to a ‘zero waste’ strategy – i.e. one that involves avoids printed paper documents? We were pleased to see that you have appointed a schools liaison officer who is in touch with 15 schools. We were delighted to read that the schools are now responsible for maintaining the landscaping beds at the 1916 commemoration monument and we would encourage you to involve them in other maintenance projects. Well done also on forming a partnership with Tonnta to provide a willow sculpture. Thank you for your comprehensive application form, map, attachments and plan as they were very helpful. However, a small number of improvements should be considered. As outlined by the adjudicator in 2015, less is better than more, so we would request that not more than 2 pages is allocated to each category in your application in 2017 – this will help you to reduce the size of the document. The map was helpful but unfortunately not at all user friendly as it was not possible to understand it without reference to your 39 page application form. This makes it difficult for the adjudicator when walking around Athlone inspecting your many projects. Please include a key in your map or a separate page which give a brief description of each of the numbers included on your map. Your plan could be improved with the addition of a quick reference table which lists all of the projects completed for the relevant year. Finally, your submission should be printed on both sides of the paper! Built Environment and Streetscape / An Timpeallacht Thógtha agus Sráid-dreacha: The adjudicator was delighted that the opportunity to explore Athlone for the first time and it proved to be a very enjoyable experience. It is difficult to review all of the features of interest in the town in a short section of the report but we will focus on those that stood out. Many of these features can be found in the town centre with the Castle drawing positive attention. We also liked the contemporary additions to this wonderful structure and like our predecessor in 2015, we resolved to return to do a tour at a later date. The Church of St Peter and Paul opposite is also a commanding historical structure and looked particularly well during adjudication day and we loved the wonderful Luan Gallery, which is comprised of a part historical red brick structure and a contemporary extension which is presented to a high standard. Many other historical buildings of note, such as the Methodist Church, the Town Bridge, the old Railway Station, the Canal Bridge at Magazine Road, St Mary's Church, the Friary and the Abbey were also admired. We observed the heritage trail map that could be found close to these its attractions and we wondered if a copy of this map could be provided with your application form in 2017? In addition, we wondered if a smart phone app (which could provide audio descriptions of these wonderful buildings) had been considered as an option for Athlone? There are some excellent terraces of historical dwellings too, like Ganly Terrace and St Marys Terrace. Your attractions are not limited to historical buildings and structures as many high quality contemporary buildings but also be seen. The modern design of the Sheraton Hotel and the Athlone Shopping Centre stood out while the Radisson Hotel and the adjoining apartment building also impressed with their contemporary designs. Bastian Court is a very attractive and high quality apartment building with impressive grounds. We also liked the many quaint and original little Lane ways that connect the town centre with the River and the surrounding areas. They include Lloyds Lane and Friary Lane and we wondered as to the origin of the wonderfully named Preachers Lane? Your co-operation with the traders in Athlone is making a very positive difference as the standard of presentation of business premises and shops was generally very good. While it is not possible to mention them all here, a number of them caught the eye of the adjudicator. They include Gertie Browns, the Bastion Gallery, the Snug Bar, the Bastion kitchen, Pavorottis Pizza, Behans, and the Malt House. The Lamplighters Academy on O’Connell Street and the Courthouse on Pearse Street also drew positive attention. Dooleys, whose planting provided an explosion of bright colours, also caught our eye. There were many examples of good commercial buildings can also be found in the vicinity of the Golden Island shopping centre and include O'Briens and Savoury Fare, while the modern design of the new shopping centre (which includes Supervalu) on the Ballymahon Road is impressive. The committee is commended on the many fine projects that they have completed for 2016. Your work refreshing and planting public places is appreciated as many looked particularly well on adjudication day. We liked the Market Square, the small plaza beside the Luan Gallery and we enjoyed the views of the Shannon from the seating areas at the Strand. The area around the old Abbey was a little disappointing due to weed growth and litter and we wondered if the artists who use the studios opposite could be persuaded to monitor and maintain this attractive space? Well done on painting the street poles, bollards and street furniture around the town and for power washing cobble lock as this work helps to significantly enhance its appearance. We admired the new feature that was built at the entrance of Roslevin and the new commemorative plaque to the 3 Athlone people involved in the 1916 rising that was placed in the John McCormack Civic Plaza. The renovation of the children's playground at Coosan Point is also to be commended. In addition, well done on the continuing work to restore and conserve the No. 1 Battery at Ranelagh Athlone by the Battery Restoration and Conservation Committee. The adjudicator was delighted that the opportunity to explore Athlone for the first time and it proved to be a very enjoyable experience. It is difficult to review all of the features of interest in the town in a short section of the report but we will focus on those that stood out. Many of these features can be found in the town centre with the Castle drawing positive attention. We also liked the contemporary additions to this wonderful structure and like our predecessor in 2015, we resolved to return to do a tour at a later date. The Church of St Peter and Paul opposite is also a commanding historical structure and looked particularly well during adjudication day and we loved the wonderful Luan Gallery, which is comprised of a part historical red brick structure and a contemporary extension which is presented to a high standard. Many other historical buildings of note, such as the Methodist Church, the Town Bridge, the old Railway Station, the Canal Bridge at Magazine Road, St Mary's Church, the Friary and the Abbey were also admired. We observed the heritage trail map that could be found close to these its attractions and we wondered if a copy of this map could be provided with your application form in 2017? In addition, we wondered if a smart phone app (which could provide audio descriptions of these wonderful buildings) had been considered as an option for Athlone? There are some excellent terraces of historical dwellings too, like Ganly Terrace and St Marys Terrace.