Tidy Towns Competition .... Leixlip 2006 Results
In 2006 Leixlip received 227 points out of a possible 400 in the Tidy Towns Competition ...
Tidy Towns Competition .... Leixlip 2006 Results Adjudication Report Centre: Leixlip Ref: 376 County: Kildare Mark: 227 Category: G Date(s): 12/07/2006 10/08/2006 Maximum Mark Mark Awarded 2006 % Overall Development Approach 50 39 78% The Built Environment 50 27 54% Landscaping 50 33 66% Wildlife and Natural Amenities 50 22 44% Litter Control 50 21 42% Waste Minimisation 20 8 40% Tidiness 30 14 46.7% Residential Areas 40 26 65% Roads, Streets and Back Areas 50 30 60% General Impression 10 7 70% TOTAL MARK 400 227 56.8% Overall Development Approach: The adjudicator would like to welcome Leixlip to the 2006 Tidy Towns Competition. Thank you for the very detailed documentation and maps supplied all of which was most useful during the adjudication process. Your work for Tidy Towns enjoys very good local support and your committee adopts a strategic approach to the competition with vision for the future and this approach is appreciated by the adjudicator. The 3 Year Tidy Towns Plan is a very detailed clean and precise document; the time has now come to move it on to cover the period 2007 to 2009. The detailed response of your committee to the 2005 Tidy Towns Report shows that your committee is moving forward in a most positive way. The adjudicator likes the SMS concept in respect of volunteer contact. Leixlip has retained the feel of a village that has expanded without loosing its character and has the atmosphere and appearance of a large village rather than a town. Hopefully this character can be retained in the future. The Built Environment: The letter to all properties in the Main Street in respect of painting seems to have some effect as on adjudication day a relatively small number of properties still required painting. The work on the Salmon Leap bridge and railings is progressing and work to date is a big improvement. It is encouraging to see the plan for the new building at the corner of Captain’s Hill. Pending site redevelopment could the large advertising panels here be removed? It is a pity that there is evidently a need in Leixlip for so many properties to have steel shutters after closing time; they add nothing to the visual appearance of Leixlip. Near Riverforest View estate an attractive shopping area with the hotel forms an interesting square in that area. The scale of development here fits well with the surrounding built environment. The Pumping Station facing onto the Spar car park has been attractively faced in stone but the graffiti on the end wall facing the river needs attention. The Confluence Sculpture could provide a centre piece for the village and evidently there are redesign works in mind for this location. At the moment this monument seems rather ‘lost’. It was encouraging to see the use of the Irish language on some shop fronts and Tabhairne Ui Neill caught the eye as a premises with very good simple effective hand lettering. The building would be improved by repainting the cream areas. The Intel stone walls project will add significantly to the appearance of the approach road from Maynooth and they are commended for their participation in public benefit projects. The 1740 Toll House at the bridge is a most interesting feature; it is a pity that viewing it is so dangerous from a traffic point of view. Weed at the base of walls was noted in a number of locations such as Ralph Square and at the gable wall of the Indian restaurant. In the Square the Post Box needs to be repainted. There is a lot of advertising signage in this square generated by two businesses; is there and possibility of a rationalization of the approach to advertising here? The terrace of buildings including the Festival office is a most beautiful row of stone and cement rendered properties that are an important feature of Leixlip. Landscaping: The many hanging baskets, window boxes and circular planters along the main street were extremely colourful and the colours worked well with the colours of the street buildings. Congratulations to your committee and the property owners for such excellent work. We look forward to further progress on the Confey GAA roadside landscaping project. The Louisa Walk entrance area by the Railway Station should have major potential for very good landscaping. The Choláiste Ciaran project and the planting at the Catholic Church car park have been noted. At the car park the planting here will provide good coverage in time, though a few plants appeared to be dead. Have you considered having the wire replaced with timber rails? The landscaping at the entrance to many estates such as Wildlife and Natural Amenities: In the river at the bridge at Pound Street the traffic cones should be removed together with the long pole and the metal object. There is a riverside area here with railings and viewing area. This may be private property but the area needs a tidy up and the trees are overgrowing part of the railing here. The Rye River Valley project was examined in detail again this year.. At the entrance to the walk the two litter bins need to be painted, the grass cut and litter removed. The general area around the signage was rather rough and would look so much better if a proper green well maintained landscaped area could be developed. The area around the Scout Den (old church) was very untidy both to the front and back. This did not appear to relate to the work on the roof. However this provides a poor introduction to this amenity area. Further along the walk two bollards were noted with much graffiti, again there was quite a lot of litter and the vegetation on each side was beginning to close in on certain parts of the path. In the view of this adjudicator the walk does not provide a particularly enjoyable experience in its present condition. At the Louisa Bridge Walk the weed growth needs to be removed from the metal entrance barrier area to the Railway Station. The Leixlip ????? was covered in graffiti. The grass here had been very roughly cut and the cut grass was not removed. The old car park that is closed off was quite untidy with long grass and weeds. Car parking here needs to be organised on a much more formal basis. Again as an amenity experience this introduction here is very poor. Litter Control: Unfortunately litter was a problem evident in Leixlip on adjudication day. This is despite the excellent litter control programme that you have in place. Not all litter was recent litter and some of it was obviously ‘aged’ – that is litter that has been in place for some time. The following areas were found to be littered on adjudication day – - Much on the Maynooth approach on the right hand verge - Some at Riverforest View estate - Much in Glendale estate - On the Celbridge approach road and on Tubbar Road ??? - Along the Main Street but cleaning was in progress during the adjudication - In some of the very narrow open spaces along the Main Street - St. Mary’s Church car park - At the River Rye Linear Park - Along the road from Scoil Bhride - At the entrance to the Louisa Bridge Walk It is important to keep in mind that litter control in areas outside of the core village is just as important as the Main Street area of Leixlip. Waste Minimisation: Your committee is very active in the promotion of waste minimisation. The level of school participation in the Green School Programme is impressive and hopefully Tidiness: Leixlip certainly needs a Bring Centre and the adjudicator would ask that the Local Authority would give this matter serious consideration and hopefully agree to provide this essential facility by adjudication time in 2007. A very untidy area was noted on the Dublin approach just after the Celbridge Roundabout on the left hand side. This area has a long rough roadside area. At the seating and viewing area to the back of Spar the timber fencing, seats and the hanging basket pole all need to be painted. On Main Street some weed growth is coming through the cobble-lock paving in a few places. Weed growth on the side wall of the Taste of India premises and near Liffey Blinds should be removed. Some pavement areas would be improved by power hosing such as outside Spar and at the monument.The Church Ireland gates and railings need to be repainted Residential Areas: Quite a number of housing estates in Leixlip were visited and the situation was generally impressive with most estates having and excellent approach to landscaping and maintenance. The landscaping at Ryevale Lawns and Squirrel Woods is outstanding and the fine mature trees and shrubs here provide excellent nesting and feeding for wildlife. In a town the size of Leixlip that has so many housing estates it is not possible in one paragraph to sum up all estates in the town in terms of overall presentation. However the following recommendations are offered by the adjudicator who suggests that the Tidy Towns Committee bring these points to the attention of all estates in Leixlip. - Road boundary walls will probably need to be painted twice each year especially on busy roads. - Gable end walls though sometimes difficult to paint should be painted when the rest of the house is being painted. - Timber fencing will require treatment at least twice per year. - Green open space grass areas will need to be cut frequently if a quality presentation is to be achieved. Remember that grass will probably have to be cut back from the top of kerbing by hand. The provision of a few well chosen trees can often transform an open space. - By their nature estates can sometimes have litter control problems and this must be addressed by each individual estate in the town. Roads, Streets and Back Areas: The entrance from the Maynooth side is very impressive as the road sweeps down the hill to turn to the right over the bridge. This approach road was rather uneven in presentation some verges were excellently presented while others seemed to have had little recent attention. Excellent landscaping was noted at the Leixlip sign. Further in the trees on the left and stone walls on the right were impressive. On Captain’s Hill some hedges were in need of trimming and the same was required on the Celbridge approach. A lot of litter was noted on the Celbridge approach.The Dublin approach looked well with the attractive stone walls and tall trees. General Impression: Leixlip village is a most attractive area of character and the Leixlip Tidy Towns Committee are adopting a very focused approach to overall presentation. Second Round Adjudication: It was a number of years since the adjudicator last had the pleasure of visiting Leixlip (or indeed passing through since the new road to the West opened). It has change little over this time and still retains its village atmosphere. It looked well on Second Adjudication Day. The bridge and railing was still being worked upon. A broken section of stone walling opposite the Springfield Hotel should be repaired before next year’s competition. The odd paper was noted on the
Leixlip
Park and Castletown makes a significant contribution to approach road presentation. Overall the landscaping in the village centre and on approach roads helps to anchor the village in the rural countryside that surrounds it. This is one of the reasons that Leixlip has such character and interest.
Confey
College will participate in 2007. The promotion of recycling through the Newsletter, Bottle Banks, window displays and the website all work well together to get the message out about the importance of recycling and waste minimisation.