Leixlip Tidy Town Association

Check us on Facebook

2011-03-24T18:43:13Z

Hi all! We have just joined Facebook and hope to keep friends up to date about whats happening and display photos etc. Check us out on www.facebook.com

New Year 2011

2011-01-19T21:34:12Z

We are undergoing some restructuring of our site. Our archives are available and you can contact us to become involved by clicking our application forms button. We wish you all success in the coming year.

Volunteers Wanted 2010

2010-04-29T16:00:45Z

We require more Volunteers for LTTA.

To Become A Volunteer click VOLUNTEER

Click below for more details.

]]> Volunteers wanted

What work will I be doing if I become a volunteer?

Much of the work entails litter picking, sweeping, weed control, hedge, clipping, painting, planting as well as some administration and fund raising. Heavier work for the more muscle endowed involves digging, machine operating, building and erecting signs.

Areas covered include all approach roads, Louisa Bridge, Cope Bridge, Confey Station, Distillery Lane, Main St. Celbridge Rd. Green Lane. etc.

This is your opportunity to play your part in helping the Leixlip Tidy Town Association keep Leixlip clean.

Please come along and join in, you will make a difference.

To Become A Volunteer click VOLUNTEER

Contact Leixlip Tidy Town

For General Inquiries click CONTACT LTTA.IE

Postal Address:

Leixlip Tidy Town Association

9 The Avenue

Louisa Valley

Leixlip

Co. Kildare

Mondays are back!

2010-04-28T16:01:46Z

Now that the light is back and we are able to go out to work in the evenings, we are now meeting on Mondays nights. If you are interested in getting out to litter pick, do weeding and pruning, we usually meet at the church carpark on Station Road at 7pm each Monday. In case our plans change we let everyone know by text alert. To join our text alert list click the volunteer link and leave your name and mobile number.

One Tonne a Day Keeps the Litter at Bay

2010-01-23T20:46:09Z

A tonne of glass a day is deposited in Leixlip’s two bottle and can banks, at Lidl and Leixlip Amenities Centre, according to the latest figures, provided to Leixlip Tidy Town Association by Dara Wyer, Kildare County Council’s Environmental Awareness Officer.

]]> Last year a total of 369 tonnes was deposited at the town’s bottle banks at Lidl and Leixlip Amenities Centre. About 90% was deposited at Lidl.This translates as one tonne of glass per day in the town, or one Imperial pound weight per person per week, based on the last (2006) census figures.

In addition, almost three tonnes of cans were deposited in the same place - that’s equivalent to about 300,000 of the popular sized beer cans find their way into Rehab’s banks. As the fortnightly collected domestic recycling bins are also used for getting rid of cans, perhaps as many more are collected there. In addition, many of the pubs and hotels have their own bottle and can recycling facilities.

Just over two tonnes of textiles (mostly clothes) are collected each year in the town’s textile bin in the Church carpark on Station road. “This figure”, says Dara Wyer, “is very good compared with other sites around the county”.

“While the figures for glass deposited at Leixlip’s bottle banks has risen steadily since 2005, when we first kept track of it, the 2009 figure is down 5 per cent on the previous year, due, more that likely to the impact of the recession on consumer spending, and maybe even the stay-at-home weather over the Christmas period”, said Leixlip Tidy Town Association’s PRO, John Colgan

There is little doubt that if either of the two bottle banks lost to the north side of the town, at Super Valu, River Forest, and Confey Cemetery, could be replaced or reinstated there would be even more glass recycled”, he said.

A Winter Wonderland

2010-01-08T15:34:10Z

Our town environs have been turned into a picture postcard. Some of these photos would make you forget the temperature reading!

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Merry Christmas to All Tidy Towners

2009-12-07T22:44:36Z

Leixlip Tidy Town Association would like to wish all its members and friends a happy Christmas season. We would like to thank everyone for all the hard work they have done over the last year. We feel that Leixlip has made great progress this year and the town looked fabulous during the height of the growing season this summer. We take the opportunity during the winter months to review and plan for the year ahead. We hope to see you all in the New Year brimming full of energy!

We always need helpers so we recommend that 1-2 hours per month is an excellent New Years resolution, and we can provide a variety of jobs to suit all interests. Considering how money is scarce we believe that a donation of a few hours of labour is more valuable. This contribution is so much more useful because of the willingness to help that motivates it.

If you are able to spare a few hours please click on our Contact link and send us a message. We can include your Mobile number on our Text Alert scheme to keep you up-to-date with our plans.

Photos Summer 2009-No Comment

2009-10-15T14:08:13Z

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Summer Colour in Leixlip

2009-10-01T21:49:47Z

Leixlip Town Council gave us financial support to purchase 6 new steel planters which were placed along the Main Street. They have made a great addition to the floral display throughout the village.

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Leixlip Garda Station

2009-09-30T22:18:30Z

The new Garda station opened its doors last autumn. To compliment the new structure Mr Jody Price, of Mill Lane, proposed a significant landscaping project in the open area in front of the building. After discussions with the Gardai and with the assistance of the town council he set to work. The result has been a stunning display of flower planters and beds. He entered this project into the Leixlip Town Council Adopt-an-Area competition, and won in his category and donated his winnings to LTTA.

We would like to commend Jody's commitment to our town and thank him for all the hours of hard work he has volunteered to our association.

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Tidy Towns competition - Leixlip Continues to Improve

2009-09-07T15:53:18Z

In today's Tidy Towns Competition, Leixlip were awarded 259 points. This is an improvement of 1 point over last year's marks; but we still continue to improve nonetheless.

The village of Emly in County Tipperary were the outright winners with 305 points. Click below for mor details ....

]]> Ireland's Tidiest Village: Emily, Co. Tipperary: 305

Ireland's Tidiest Small Town: Aughrim, Co. Wicklow: 302

Ireland's Tidiest Large Town: Westport, Co. Mayo: 304

Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre: Ennis, Co. Clare: 304

More details and full report on our results will be published here soon.

Submission To KCC Development Plan

2009-08-05T22:52:28Z

LTTA make proposals on the Kildare County development plan jointly with Celbridge and Maynooth Tidy Town Associations

On our initiative, LTTA has combined with CTTA and MTT to make common proposals to Kildare County Council as a precursor to the Council’s preparation of a new development plan for the county. This is a first for us all.

]]> WE MAKE PROPOSALS ON THE KILDARE COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN jointly with Celbridge and Maynooth Tidy Town Associations

On our initiative, LTTA has combined with CTTA and MTT to make common proposals to Kildare County Council as a precursor to the Council’s preparation of a new development plan for the county. This is a first for us all.

The common proposals we have agreed are:

the provision of a pedal-cycling lane along the Liffey linear park into Dublin
ensure that bicycle parking facilities are actually provided with developments – they are not - and retro-fit them in town centre, shopping and railway stations
insist that all new commercial and institutional developments provide on-site parking facilities - not levies in lieu
where practicable, ban HGVs from old, village- or town-centre locations and provide bypasses if necessary
list old stone walls, all old canal and railway masonry bridges as protected structures
the elected members to lobby government to bring Irish Rail and OPW within the normal planning process – to preclude the damage they do to structures without the public having any practical right of redress
require all further town-centre development to be architecturally harmonious with the historic town theme
promote the use of the third-rail electrification of the Maynooth commuter railway in place of ugly, overhead wires and pylons
provide a bring-and-leave recycling centre for North Kildare, possibly at the Council’s own site on the West Celbridge – West Leixlip interchange road
provide for the collection of brown (ie garden) waste
provide for the operation of the Litter Acts to police surplus signage and commercial events and use traffic wardens for this purpose
provide for feedback to complainants from litter wardens
operate the Planning & Development Acts to control unauthorised development – KCC is among the least effective planning authorities in this respect according to 2006 and 2007 data
provide public access to the Council’s unauthorised development files, as promised
operate the Derelict Sites Act as envisaged to control dereliction
remove excessive pole-mounted signage in historic village centres and replace with on-road signage or outside towns
ban pole-mounted signs outside heritage, protected or historic structures
require bus-stops and other premises to have cigarette butt disposal containers
establish a parks and litter control team at the Maynooth Council centre
plan to provide more leisure facilities for the elderly and playgrounds for children
welcome substantial development proposals which provide for district heating or combined heat and power schemes
require new developments to collect rain-water for non-potable purposes
meter and charge for potable water and incentivise the use of economising devices
Council policy on planning should be based on low population growth.

Leixlip-Specific Proposals

Zone the Sileachán Valley as an area of special biodiversity
Zone as public amenity the riverside parkland from Rye Bridge, Main Street to Leixlip Bridge and continue the development of it, taking care to prevent encroachment from private interests
Specify the conservation of the Spa Well and Romanesque bath at Louisa Bridge, taking care to strike a balance between public access and the protection of the special micro-biodiversity there
Specify as an objective the restoration of the canal collector’s cottage by the aqueduct
Specify as an objective the preservation of parts of the Royal Canal embankment to foster the wild flora there
Specify as an objective the implementation of the Planning and Development Regulations relating to prohibited signage, advertising material, flood and fascia lighting, the fixing of satellite dishes to the fronts and chimneys of village centre premises, the removal of what ought to be temporary fixtures for festive lighting and ancillary unauthorised electricity meters when not in use.
Specify as an objective more studies on the abatement of flooding in the village
Take a new, cul-de-sac in charge off Main St
Upgrade the Council’s policy to secure the effective protection of the Wonderful Barn and consider allotments as a complementary use of the surround land.

IBAL Results - Response from LTTA

2009-06-23T14:15:44Z

IBAL’s February, 2009 Survey of Leixlip has us up there again with towns “Clean to European Norms”, during dark and difficult working conditions.

]]> Here’s how we responded to the local news media:

“Leixlip Tidy Town Association (Established 1963) is delighted with IBAL’s latest litter survey, finding the town still up there in the highest category, ‘Clean to European Norms’”.

Seven out of ten Leixlip sites surveyed got the top grade.

“While there are now sixty towns in the survey, compared to 55 last time, when Leixlip also ranked 23^rd, they are not the same towns and a strict comparison can’t be made. Two Kildare towns, Athy - which has performed erratically and badly in recent years’ adjudications - and Maynooth along with Greystones in Co Wicklow, which entered the scheme at the same time as Leixlip a few years ago, are no longer being appraised. It appears that they have been taken out because of a reluctance to have them appraised on the part of the county councils. If this is the case, it is defeating the objective of IBAL’s scheme.” Towns which fare badly within IBAL’s scheme will fare worse out of it.

“The collaboration of Leixlip’s Tidy Town Association, Town Council and reps from Kildare Co Council in pursuit of a cleaner local environment seems to be paying off. The three participate in an Anti-Litter or Tripartite Committee and meet occasionally to coordinate their activities. In March, 2009 the Committee met with an expert from an Taisce to discuss issues of concern, among them clarification of the town boundary used by an Taisce in the appraisal of litter.

Unfortunately, this has yet to be dealt with. “The current IBAL study, which is normally done in February, has mystified us as to how the Lucan to Celbridge Road and the M4 approach roads from Lucan Spa to Cooldrinagh roundabout are being held to be part of Leixlip, when clearly they are part of Lucan, Co Dublin! For this area the IBAL adjudicators noted a

Serious Litter Problem – this was by far the most heavily littered of all the sites surveyed in Leixlip. The base of the shrubbery/bushes was particularly bad with a ‘long-term’ build up of ‘old’ litter.

“We agree that it is, and has been, seriously littered. Anybody taking a bus from Palmerstown to the Spa Hotel, Lucan and thence across the Celbridge-Lucan road to Cooldrinagh will know that this area has rarely been cleaned. But cleansing it is principally the job of South Dublin County Council supplemented by Lucan’s volunteers. It is not a Leixlip or Kildare issue. We already cleanse the Dublin approach road (Leixlip Road) from Cooldrinagh roundabout to Leixlip village: this the judges said “was a clean and fresh approach into Leixlip.””

“It is ironic that Lucan was ranked 22^nd (to Leixlip’s 23^rd) when Leixlip is being held responsible for Lucan’s litter! We look forward to sorting this litter matter out with IBAL’s adjudicators in an Taisce asap.”

We congratulate Celbridge on their fine performance, well deserved, on this their first IBAL appraisal. We have plans to collaborate with them on our mutual approach roads.

Issued for Leixlip Tidy Town Association by John Colgan, PRO, LTTA, to whom it may be attributed as spokesperson for LTTA.

Enquiries to 085 100 73 69 or 01 6244631

IBAL Report for Leixlip - February 2009

2009-06-23T14:14:38Z

What IBAL’s Report for LEIXLIP said, following its 1^st Round appraisal which was done about February 2009

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Leixlip was placed 23^rd out of 60 towns and cities surveyed.

“Leixlip has scored very well with seven out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade. The top ranking sites were not just clear of litter but in excellent condition e.g. Ralph Square, Rye River Walk and The Mall. Three of the excellent sites were approach roads. The fourth approach road was by far the most heavily littered site surveyed – M4 Motorway and Celbridge to Lucan Road – much of the litter along this route was ‘old’ indicating a lack of thorough cleaning for quite some time. (Our ob: this area is in Lucan, Co Dublin, not in Leixlip! Lucan was placed 22^nd!)

Maynooth Approach Road: Clean to European Norms. An excellent site – completely clear of litter and very well maintained. Created a very good first impression of Leixlip. (Our ob: LTTA and Maynooth TTA recently carried out a joint cleanup of this area; see pics on our website)

William Francis Roantree Park by Liffey: Moderately Littered. This is an attractive environment with ornamental trees and seating area – unfortunately the users of same have not availed of the litter bins provided. Litter was most pronounced in the area surrounding the wooden seating.

Ralph Square: Clean to European Norms. This is a well-cared-for site with the built environment in good condition. The overall impression was positive.

The Mall, Main Street: Clean to European Norms. The immaculately preserved houses have been adorned with some ornamental trees and flowering – the whole area was in impeccable condition.

Leixlip Dispensary Car Park: Moderately Littered. Most of the litter at this site was in the shrubbery area surrounding the car park – sweet papers and coffee cups were particularly obvious. Cigarette butts dominated the paved area.

Rye to Liffey Riverside Walk: Clean to European Norms. This is a lovely amenity which has been carefully maintained – benches, railings, flowers and shrubbery areas were all in very good condition. (Our Ob: this is a new development, credit for which should go to the Co Council’s Park Superintendent, Simon Wallace, who created it and is part of the Roantree linear park plan)

Scoil Chearbhaill Ui Dhalaigh: Clean to European Norms. This was a spotless site. The build environment and surrounding area was in very good condition.

N4/ R148 Leixlip-Lucan, Dublin Approach Road: Clean to European Norms. This was a clean and fresh approach into Leixlip. The road works which were taking place didn’t impact in any negative way on the litter situation.

M4 Motorway and Celbridge to Lucan Road Nexus: Serious Litter Problem. This was by far the most heavily littered of all the sites surveyed in Leixlip. The base of the shrubbery / bushes was particularly bad with a ‘long-term’ build up of ‘old’ litter. (Our Ob: the area isn’t in Leixlip; it’s a half a mile deep into Lucan, Co Dublin and the responsibility of South Dublin Co Council and Lucan volunteers.)

Confey Approach Road: Clean to European Norms. There was no litter to report on this smaller approach route – it was clear of litter and well maintained.

IBAL Results Feb 2009 - Countrywide

2009-06-23T14:01:46Z

Click below for countrywide table.

]]> IBAL Anti Litter League 1^st Round Results Table 2009

Ranking	Town/City	Status
1.	Wexford	‘Clean to European Norms’
2.	Ennis	‘Clean to European Norms’
3.	Youghal	‘Clean to European Norms’
4.	Carlow	‘Clean to European Norms’
5.	Dun Laoghaire	’Clean to European Norms’
6.	Swords	’Clean to European Norms’
7.	Balbriggan	’Clean to European Norms’
8.	Longford	’Clean to European Norms’
9.	Roscommon	’Clean to European Norms’
10.	Killarney	’Clean to European Norms’
11.	Sligo	’Clean to European Norms’
12.	Monaghan	’Clean to European Norms’
13.	Shannon	’Clean to European Norms’
14.	Celbridge	’Clean to European Norms’
15.	Ballincollig	’Clean to European Norms’
16.	Bray	’Clean to European Norms’
17.	Tramore	’Clean to European Norms’
18.	Newcastlewest	’Clean to European Norms’
19.	Newbridge	’Clean to European Norms’
20.	Tuam	’Clean to European Norms’
21.	Cavan	’Clean to European Norms’
22.	Lucan	’Clean to European Norms’
23.	Leixlip	’Clean to European Norms’
24.	Navan	’Clean to European Norms’
25.	Cobh	’Clean to European Norms’
26.	Dundalk	’Clean to European Norms’
27.	Drogheda	’Clean to European Norms’
28.	Tralee	’Clean to European Norms’
29.	Midleton	’Clean to European Norms’
30.	Thurles	’Clean to European Norms’
31.	New Ross	’Clean to European Norms’
32.	Ashbourne	’Clean to European Norms’
33.	Fermoy	’Clean to European Norms’
34.	Letterkenny	’Clean to European Norms’
35.	Dungarvan	’Clean to European Norms’
36.	Mullingar	’Clean to European Norms’
37.	Ballinasloe	’Clean to European Norms’
38.	Ballina	’Clean to European Norms’
39.	Blanchardstown	’Clean to European Norms’
40.	Castlebar	’Clean to European Norms’
41.	Enniscorthy	’Clean to European Norms’
42.	Galway City	Moderately Littered
43.	Clonmel	Moderately Littered
44.	Tullamore	Moderately Littered
45.	Buncrana	Littered