RUBBLE TROUBLE
It was very disappointing over the weekend to come across a pile of old tiles that had been dumped in a gateway on Barry’s Road opposite the entrance to An Caislean.
This was an absolutely disgraceful thing to do when Ballincollig Tidy Towns is working so hard to keep the community clean and looking its best. It shows a total lack of respect for Ballincollig and for the people who live there.
If anyone can shed some light on who did this, perhaps some cctv or dash cam footage, they can contact the Ballincollig Gardai.
DON’T FORGET – SUNDAY ON TG4
Don’t forget to watch CLEAS ACT on Sunday night at 20.30. See members of Ballincollig Tidy Towns and pupils and staff of Gaelscoil Ui Riordain come together in this lovely programme.
JOB WELL DONE
Last Saturday staff from O’Donovan Agri Group contracted by Cork City Council washed all the cycle lane bollards along the road at Colaiste Choilm and also those from Poulavone to Carrigrohane. These were a sorry mess from the constant traffic passing them.
Each bollard had to be individually power washed. It was a slow and tedious process but the results were fantastic.
LITTER PICKS
Sunday morning, despite the stormy weather, there were 18 Volunteers and 2 Transition Year students.
Despite the smaller number we managed to cover all the usual areas.
Several of our Volunteers carried out litter picks during the week.
All the litter collected was gathered together and when segregated on Monday at the Allotment yielded 2 bags of plastic, a bag of cans and a crate of glass.
SOME OF THE WEEK’S WORK
Adrian spent Tuesday morning working on the water tanks and preparing the steel tray for painting. Preparing the trailer is taking a lot of time but certainly worth the effort.
On Wednesday, John was busy turning the compost in Bay No 1. This is our newest batch.
Adrian dead headed the hydrangeas at Cleburne Mews, and continued with some weeding at the Allotment.
The steel tray on the water tank has now been painted and ready to be put back in place.
A SAD LOSS
Storms Eunice and Dudley wreaked havoc across the city over the weekend and sadly, one of the magnificent Beech Trees, home to so many fairies on our Fairy Trail, fell victim to the gale force winds.
This beautiful beech tree was planted around the time gunpowder manufacturing was at its peak in Ballincollig. And as it grew and generations came and went, it held its own in an area of the Regional Park Ballincollig. It surely saw much activity with the British Army Barracks, the 1940s Emergency and the Irish Army Barracks, to name a few. As Ballincollig village grew into a sprawling town it stood, strong against several storms and harsh winters.
Eunice and Dudley proved too much for this tired, frail tree, protector of so many fairies over so many years. Sadly, it fell to the ground.
Although this has added to the local housing crisis we have it on good authority that all fairies will be rehoused in the coming weeks, as they have priority on the housing list.
COMMUNITY AREA MAINTENANCE GRANT 2022
Cork City Council would like to invite applications for the Community Area Maintenance Grant Scheme 2022, for projects with a Litter Prevention or Litter Reduction Focus.
To complete an application form and view the terms and conditions please go to – https://submit.link/Jv.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday, March 16th 2022 at 5pm.
Any previously awarded funding must be receipted to us before any further funding will be allocated.
ENTENTE FLORALE 2022
SuperValu Tidy Towns are delighted to welcome the return of the Entente Florale competition for 2022. This is the European competition and each year two centres are nominated based on their performance in the national competition. The entrants for the 2022 competition are Keadue in County Roscommon and Dalkey in County Dublin. The Department and the Entente Florale mentors have met with the committee and local authority in Keadue and will be meeting with the group and local authority in Dalkey later this week. Wishing both centres all the best with their preparations for the Jury visits which take place in early July.
GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES FIRST EVER TOWN CENTRE POLICY
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Major new strategy to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into town centres
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Network of Town Regeneration Officers to drive future development
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Unprecedented investment to make our towns better places to live, work and raise a family
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Suite of supports and tools to help businesses and local communities deliver on their unique vision for their area
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New Policy to deliver on the objectives of ‘Housing for All’ and ‘Our Rural Future’
Town Centre First – a major new policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres was published by the Government earlier this month.
Town Centre First contains 33 unique actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business. The policy is underpinned by a multi-billion euro investment spread across major Government schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Croí Conaithe (Towns) Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Designated towns will gain their own dedicated Town Regeneration Officers for the first time. They will be crucial to driving future development.
The policy also contains a range of actions designed to achieve key objectives such as social and economic revival in towns, the provision of housing, as well as addressing challenges like vacancy and derelict buildings.
The actions also support the protection of our environment, as well as the heritage and culture of our towns.
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, the Minister for Planning and Local Government, Peter Burke TD, and the Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD launched Town Centre First in Moate on 4th February.
Town Centre First, which supports the objectives of Housing for All and Our Rural Future, is a commitment under the Programme for Government. Announcing Town Centre First, the Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys TD said:
“‘Town Centre First’ represents a new approach to revitalising communities the length and breadth of this country. This is about bringing together our businesses, our local authorities and our town teams – so that they are at the fore when it comes to planning for the future development of their communities. It’s about ensuring our towns have the tools, resources and investment they need to tackle major issues such as dereliction and vacant properties”.
The Minister went on to say; “We know that so many of our towns, particularly in rural Ireland, face considerable challenges, but they also have extraordinary potential. With investment under the likes of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, we will ensure our towns become even better places to live, work and raise a family. Town Centre First’ will arm our towns with the ability to map out and deliver on their own unique vision, helping to revitalise Rural Ireland and deliver on the objectives of ‘Our Rural Future’.” Among the specific actions contained in Town Centre First include:
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Town Centre First Plans: Support for towns in producing their own Town Centre First Plans, produced by a local Town Team drawn from local community and business representatives. These will identify challenges, actions and integrated responses across a number of themes (business/commercial; community/cultural; housing; built environment; heritage)
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Investment: Implementation of plans will be supported by a targeted investment programme across Government, including through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and dedicated funding streams to tackle vacancy and dereliction in particular.
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A network of Town Regeneration Officers: who will bring a coordinated approach to Town Centre First delivery across the country and support local Town Teams
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A National Town Centre First Office: that will drive implementation of Town Centre First actions and coordinate stakeholder engagement at a national level and across the local government sector. This office will also be a forum for best practice
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Capacity building programmes for Town Teams
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Health Check Programme: a national, integrated and scaled-up programme for towns
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A Town Centre First toolkit (including web portal): this will provide access to all resources, funding information and best practice models for developing Town Centre First Plans
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Identification of ‘pathfinder towns’: to act as demonstrators of the Town Centre First approach and lead best practice. Towns requiring more support with local stakeholder collaboration and access to investment programmes will be identified at an early stage
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A Town Centre First National Oversight and Advisory Group: the group will ensure cross-government focus and policy alignment. It will monitor and guide policy delivery and annual implementation plans.
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Impact assessment methodology: this will help assess the impact of development and investment on town centres. It will be applied to the statutory planning system.
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A research and evidence platform and agreed data measurement requirements: these will relate to key social and economic outcomes and ensure there is an evidence base for the ongoing evaluation of the Town Centre First policy. The Town Centre First Policy is available at
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/473d3-town-centre-first-policy/
COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM 2022
In 2021 there was a virtual competition for Community in Bloom titled “Hope is growing”. Glaslough in County Monaghan, the 2020 entrant in the Communities in Bloom competition, participated in this virtual event and will now be the Irish nomination for the 2022 competition.
As a result of the pandemic, the 2020 competition did not proceed. This summer however, the Jury will be visiting Glaslough in person. There is no doubt that Glaslough will showcase the village, county Monaghan and indeed the country in a professional manner on the international stage. Wishing them all the very best of luck with the process.
MAKING IRELAND GREENER – ONE TREE AT A TIME
EZ Living Furniture recently shared information of a campaign they are running to make Ireland Greener. The company has been operating in Ireland for the last 23 years and during this time, has seen substantial growth in furniture businesses nationwide. They have currently 15 stores across the country with plans to expand even further in the future. As a company, all the success goes to the people and communities of Ireland. This is one of many reasons EZ Living Furniture likes to give back to charities and businesses as much as possible. They already take part in recycling initiatives to help the environment, but know that they can do more.
This year, they decided to do their bit to help combat climate change. Studies have shown that tree planting has a hugely positive effect on Mother Nature. Planting trees in the communities helps in so many different ways. Every tree planted creates more oxygen for people to breathe and prevents flooding by absorbing rainwater and releasing it slowly. To help improve communities for future generations, it’s important to act now. This is why EZ Living Furniture has decided to purchase a large number of trees and deliver them to communities across the country to be planted. They already have a number of schools and GAA clubs willing to partake in this initiative and accept the trees, but, EZ Living Furniture would also like to supply some trees to Tidy Towns groups.
EZ Living Furniture knows that trees are not only great for the environment but also benefit mental health and well-being. As such, EZ Living Furniture wants to provide trees to any town council that would love to plant and nurture a better environment for their community.
All that is asked in return are some photos of the trees being planted so the word can be spread across the EZ Living Furnitures social media channels, website and the local newspapers, hopefully leading to more councils taking them up on the offer, and getting more trees planted. The planting season for these trees runs from November until March, so this, unfortunately, excludes March 2022 because of a short notice period.
They are however, looking for advance notice of interest from groups to know if they would like to partake in this initiative for later this year (November 2022 – March 2023). If any group would be interested in taking part, they would like to hear from you. All that they need from you is:
* The number of trees that you would like from EZ Living Furniture.
* The address where these are to be delivered. Email this information to: sarah@ezlivingfurniture.ie
pics: the good
pics: the not so good