Tidy Towns Competition 2006

Adjudication Report

Centre: Celbridge Ref: 338

County: Kildare Mark: 198

Category: G Date: 21/07/2006

Maximum
Mark

Mark Awarded
2006

Overall Development Approach

The Built Environment

Landscaping

Wildlife and Natural Amenities

Litter Control

Waste Minimisation

Tidiness

Residential Areas

Roads. Streets and Back Areas

General Impression

TOTAL MARK

400

198

Overall Development Approach:

The adjudicator would like to welcome Celbridge to the 2006 Tidy Towns Competition, and it is great to have
Celbridge back in the competition after an absence of three years. Thank you for the comprehensive folder of
documentatin all of which was most useful on adjudication day, a fine sunny July morning. You have been
receiving good media coverage and that is very important from a Tidy Towns point of view. The Tidy Towns
Committee of twelve people appears to enjoy good community and business support. Hopefully the 2001
village Renewal P!an will get back on track to allow you to further your plans for Celbridge. The adjudicator
notes that a Tidy Towns Work Programme or Plan for Celbridge was not submitted with the entry
documentation.To do well and make real progress in the competition it is recommended that all towns and
villages have a simple straight forward 3 - 5 Year Tidy Towns Plan for their area. This Plan is prepared by
your Committee in consultation with the appropriate local organisations. It should be no more than seven to
ten pages long. The purpose of the Plan is to guide the work of your Tidy Towns Committee and others for
Celbridge over the short to medium term. Your Plan should detail year by year the work that you intend to do
each year. It is recommended that you do not have too many objectives each year - perhaps 4/5 key projects.

The Built Environment:

The Famine Graveyard restoration project is an excellent initiative and it is so important that this aspect of
our history is preserved for future generations. The drawings provided were most helpful. Hopefully in time
you will be able to arrange signposting to the graveyard. Your initiative in respect of the house at the
entrance to Castletown House is highly commended and this property when fully restored will be an
interesting addition to the Irish Landmark Trust holiday accommodation portfolio. The Church of Ireland
Church building provides an impressive introduction to the beautiful Castletown House and estate that is so
well presented. The Main Street has a great mixture of buildings but unfortunately some poor signage is a
feature here. The AIB premise with the grey painted brick is a little dated in concept. Nearby the traditional
Gogarty shopfront dates from a time when Celbridge was probably a small village. Have you considered with
the Local Authority the possibility of developing an incentive scheme for shopfront improvement in the Main
Street area? Some of the buildings here seemed to be overpowered visually with very large window boxes or
hanging baskets. Quite often just a small display can be more effective than a very large display on the same
building. Celbridge despite problems of traffic still manages to retain an attractive village feel and hopefully

this atmosphere will be preserved in the future.

Landscaping:

The planting of Spanish chestnut and London Plane trees in Celbridge and the support of Intel for the
planting programme on the Ardclough Road is very encouraging. The wildflower meadow development at
the old Famine Graveyard on the Maynooth road will be a great resource for wildlife in that area. Excellent
landscaping was noted at the entrance to Chelmsford estate on the Newtown Road and the landscaping here
makes an important contribution to that part of this approach road to Celbridge. Other good landscaping that
caught the eye included the entrance area to the St. John of God property which was colourful and
appropriate in scale and impact. Quite a number of the housing estates have made great efforts in respect of
landscaping and their continuing support for your work is so important. At the Grotto the grass was in need of
cutting.

Wildlife and Natural Amenities:

You have done good work on the restoration of the riverbank area near the Mill. The view of the side of the
Mill from here is quite spectacular. The adjudicator noted the wildlife in the river but it is a pity that there are
no wildlife informational panels at the pedestrian bridge area. It is important that your Tidy Towns Committee
would examine further the wildlife potential of Celbridge, and see what you can achieve in terms of making
your area even more wildlife friendly.

If you have not already done so, the starting point is to have a habitat survey carried out of the wildlife in your
area. Suggested habitats to be considered include the following -

--- Urban habitats - gardens, waste ground, walls, graveyards, hedges

--- Wetland habitats - rivers, ponds, reed marsh, bogs

--- Woodland habitats - forests, hedgerows, plantations, parks

--- Grassland habitats - roadside verges, parks, wet meadows, dry grasslands

The survey should produce a species list for each of the habitats relevant to the Celbridge area. This need
not be an expensive survey. Perhaps there is a knowledgeable person locally who might undertake this task
for you. Basically the survey would identify the animals, plants, birds, fish that inhabit your area and their
associated habitats. It should be remembered that to carry out the survey properly that it will probably take a
year so t-'ai ail habitats can be assessed at different time of the year.

Using the results of the wildlife survey your next step should be do draft a straight forward Plan for Celbridge

to preserve the identified habitats in the area, and investigate the possibility of new ones.

It is most important to try and involve your local school children in this project, and in many Schools there is
probably a teacher who may have an interest in this area who would be willing to get involved. The future
boardwalk project sounds really interesting and we look forward to having details of this in 2007

Litter Control:

Poor litter control was noted on adjudication day both on approach roads and in the town centre. In some
estates this was a problem also. Litter was noted in Beatty Grove estate, Oldtown Mill, and especially on the
Shackleton approach road just before Tesco. Quite a lot of litter was noted on the Main Street and especially on
the short road that leads to the pedestrian footbridge. Much litter was noted around this bridge area also.
Despite the litter control programme that you have detailed in your entry documentation litter control is a
difficult problem.

Waste Minimisation:

This is a new category in the Tidy Towns Competition introduced in 2006. The purpose of this new category
is to encourage Tidy Towns Committees and the community that they support to get involved in projects that
will reduce waste and encourage recycling. Marks can be gained by Celbridge for the promotion of best
practice. This can include community guidance on methods of reducing waste, segregating litter during clean
up events. You could also consider a partnership with local firms and businesses to encourage them to
reduce unnecessary waste. Your involvement in Bottle Bank placement in Celbridge is noted and it is
important that your views are taken into consideration in regard to such matters.

Tidiness:

Graffiti was noted on the low wall on the Clane approacn near the main road. Also on this road the area
opposite the sports ground with the timber post and rail -'encing was quite untidy. Just beyond the Grotto on
the Timahoe road two untidy open spaces were noted one with a wire gateway. The railings along the river to

the rear of the Bridge House premises would be improved if painted matt black. This area has long grass and
weeds and graffiti and would be greatly improved if tidied up. The general area of the pedestrian bridge
needs a lot of improvement in presentation terms. The river bank area opposite the McEvoy premises also
needs to be tidied and the litter removed. In summary the river area at the pedestrian bridge has great
potential to be really attractive but needs a lot of further work.

Residential Areas:

Quite a number of the Celbridge estates were visited. One recurrent problem was weed growth at roadside
kerbing that looks quite untidy. Attractive grass areas were noted at Beatty Grove where there is a good
mixture of tree species. Poorly presented grass areas were noted at Castletown together with damaged
kerbing. At Vanessa Lawns damaged timber fencing on the left just inside the entrance needs to be
replaced. Quite good landscaping was noted at Oldtown Mill though litter was also present. On Tea Lane
attractive older houses were noted each with an entrance porch area. In a town the size of Celbridge 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 the these points to the attention of all estates in Celbridge.

--- 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.

--- All estates should be encouraged to provide entrance name signs and directional signage within the estate.

--- 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.

--- Areas to the back of estates can sometimes become dumping areas for cut grass and other materials.

--- Simple landscaping at individual houses can often be very effective if the proper trees and shrubs are planted

--- By their nature estates can sometimes have litter control problems and this must be addressed by each individual estate in the town.

If you do not already run a Tidy estates Competition involving the estates in your town then now might be the time to consider doing so.

It is likely you will be able to find a local sponsor or sponsors who would be prepared to fund the prize fund. The prizes should ideally be

in the form of vouchers for estate maintenance equipment or for landscaping.

Roads, Streets and Back Areas:

The concept of the Approach Road Manager (APR) is most interesting and one that this adjudicator has not
come across before. It is usual in the Tidy Towns Competition that the boundaries are the 50 KPH speed
limit signs. On the Maynooth approach in from the roundabout further work on roadside verges is required.
The narrow verge on the left on the Ardclough approach to Celbridge also needs attention as this verge was
rather rough. Likewise the Clane / Wolstan Haven Road approach needs further work as some grass areas
were poorly presented. The Lucan / Dublin approach has that beautiful estate wall along the left hand side of
the road that makes this quite a pleasant approach to Celbridge The long approach road to Castletown
House is most beautifully presented. In summary most approach roads need further work in the year ahead.

General Impression:

Celbridge has an attractive Liffey side location and the town still has a friendly village atmosphere. Good luck
with your 2007 Tidy Towns projects.

2006 Category G results

Ennis	288
Letterkenny	287
Kilkenny	284
Malahide	276
Carlow	271
Clonmel	268
Tralee	255
Newbridge	253
Ballincollig	249
Portlaoise	246
Naas	243
Navan	243
Leixlip	227
Mullingar	222
Douglas	218
Ballymun	214
Athlone	214
Sligo	212
Celbridge	198

Celbridge Tidy Towns contact phone# 086-2200678

Volunteers always very welcome.