2011 Tidy Towns Judging Report

2011 was a reasonabley good year for Blarney in terms of the both the Tidy Towns and Anti-Litter competitions. The challenge will be to press on from here. The following report is from the Tidy Towns, and I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions as to how we can do better next year.

                                                  Tidy Towns Competition 2011

                                                      Adjudication Report 

Blarney, County: Cork
(South) Mark Awarded: 247 from 400.

Judging Date(s): 07/07/2011 

Maximum Mark available in brackets

Overall Development Approach (50) 28 

The Built Environment (50) 37 

Landscaping  (50) 34 

Wildlife and Natural Amenities (50) 29

Litter Control (50) 31 

Waste Minimisation (20) 8 

Tidiness (30) 16 

Residential Areas (40) 30 

Roads, Streets and Back Areas (50) 27 

General Impression (10) 7 

TOTAL MARK (400) 247

 Overall Development Approach:

 Your adjudicator would like to welcome Blarney to the 2011 Tidy Towns competition and your participation is important to the competition. Thank you for the entry form which was rather lacking in detail and generalised. This makes the allocation of new marks problematical as new work is one of the issues considered when allocating additional marks. Your committee of three people and ten area representatives is basically a good
structure. Have you had any contact with the Local Authority or the LEADER Partnership to see if they can assist your work? It is suggested that your communications to the Blarney community can be expanded using text messaging, email and possibly Facebook. The School links appeared to be satisfactory and these are so important. A 3 Year Tidy Towns Plan for Blarney was not included and you might consider this for next year. You will find that using the ten
adjudication categories as a framework can be most useful. The issues in regard to funding and safety have been noted. 

The Built Environment: 

No new projects were highlighted under this section of the entry form. The presentation
at Blarney Castle was found to be excellent for a major visitor attraction. As the core village area the Square is full of
character and this makes Blarney one of the few Irish villages where the Square survives intact. The trees here were
greatly admired. Presentation of buildings around the Square was quite good with one exception. That was Emerald House where repainting and renewal is urgently required. Blarney Woollen Mills was a hive of activity when visited
and the new extended area to the front was admired. The Boys School on St Anne’s Road really stands out for the excellent well painted building that it is. Some landscaping here compliments the main building in a satisfactory manner. The retail area opposite Station Road provides a second village focus and this area was visited and found to be quite tidy. Retail signage here is quite good as is the signage at the Woodfield Convenience Store. Waterloo
Joinery would be improved if the front facade was painted and generally tidied up. 

Landscaping:

Your entry referred to new planted areas but did not give details or locations. Therefore this could not be considered from a marks point of view. However around Blarney small, well landscaped colourful areas were visited and admired. At Woodfield entrance a well presented green area caught the eye. Along Castle Close Road individual landscaping added a good sense of colour. At Blarney Woollen Mills good landscaping compliments the attractive stone buildings of a former industrial background. Your adjudicator reminds all TidyTowns Committees that the cutting of roadside banks and ditches in the period 1st March to 30th August is not permitted under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, incorporating section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. 

Wildlife and Natural Amenities: 

The reference to the amenity area in the entry form was presumably to the attractive area along the Waterloo   Road. This area was visited and has great wildlife interpretative potential. Have you considered carrying out a wildlife survey of the Blarney area? There may be a local knowledgeable person who could assist in this and the Schools may also have a contribution to make. The linear amenity area on the Mallow road side was visited also though part of this is strictly outside the Blarney area. The development of interpretation for this area is suggested.

Litter Control: 

On the day of the visit to Blarney litter control was found to be quite good. The involvement of the Schools in your four cleanups is welcomed. The Bring Centre was visited and found to be quite tidy. Two sign poles here needed to be painted and one box had been dumped. Isolated pieces of litter were seen in Castle Close estate. 

Waste Minimisation: 

This category is fundamentally about the reduction of the annual waste produced in Blarney. It is suggested that you carry out a simple waste audit and the TidyTowns Handbook will give you guidance on that if necessary. Once there is an understanding of the waste issue in the village then reduction steps can be discussed. The Schools have a role to play. Talk to Blarney Castle and the hotel to see what waste reduction measures they are operating. Do give us the results for next year. 

Tidiness: 

The removal of old signage was noted in the entry form and this was also evident on the ground. Weed control was also mentioned but a serious weed problem was noted in some estates and on the St Anne’s Road approach to Blarney. On the Mallow side approach road advertising on the left green verge should be discouraged. Signage clutter was an issue at the Shean Lower Junction with Castle Close Road. It is suggested that the entrance to the old hotel site is screened from public view. 

Residential Areas: 

Your entry form indicated that you were advising estates of what work needed to be done but no details were provided for your adjudicator. Monacnappa was visited and found to be quite tidy and a very good green area at the higher level was admired. By the detached houses another fine sloping grass area was noted. Colourful individual house painting along Shamrock Terrace stood out. Station Road impressed with so many attractively painted and landscaped older properties. Landscaping at individual houses in Woodfield was absent. Bad kerb weed needed early attention at Sunberry and the area by the collapsed security fencing looked quite untidy. A good green area at the top was well maintained. Fine mature landscaping both public and private featured at Castleowen while the attractive stone buildings at Mangerton Terrace were admired. 

Roads, Streets and Back Areas: 

Along Station road the roadside bank was generally uncut except for a very small area
around the inner village sign. The approach from the Mallow road was greatly admired and the grassy
verge areas and fine trees make this a most impressive approach to your village. The Shean Lower approach is
also commended. Banks needed to be cut along the St Anne’s approach road and
very bad kerb weed featured along this road. Many roads and streets need name
signs in Irish and English. 

General Impression: 

Blarney is an attractive heritage village that has retained its village character and qualities despite the near proximity to Cork City. Good luck for next year and do let us have more detail in the entry form if possible for 2012. We look forward to being with you again then.