Donegal’s 2016 Tidy Towns Seminar took place in Ireland’s tidiest town, Letterkenny.
The seminar, which was hosted by Donegal County Council, took place in The Radisson Hotel with over 50 people attending.
In his opening address the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Ciaran Brogan welcomed all the participants to the event.
He said “As a Letterkenny man myself, I am delighted to welcome all of you to Ireland’s tidiest town and I am especially delighted to welcome Anne O’Leary, a national adjudicator in the Tidy Towns Competition.”
He added “I would like to congratulate the representatives of all the Tidy Towns on the work they do day in day out to keep their own towns and villages in tip top shape”.
The Cathaoirleach also paid tribute to the work of the Council staff and mentioned in particular the Councils Litter Wardens. He stated that “these staff work at the coalface doing what is at times a very difficult job. However, by working hand in hand with communities across the county, our litter wardens are working hard to tackle the scourge of illegal dumping and littering that continues to blight our county”.
Seamus Neely, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council echoed the sentiments expressed by the Cathaoirleach and acknowledged the great work being done by Tidy Town Committees throughout the county.
“The contribution made by these committees and by their many volunteers is vital in terms of supporting not only the social fabric of our towns and villages but also in supporting the economic development of our county. Tourism is an important sector for Donegal and if we are to continue to promote Donegal as an ideal holiday destination then we must ensure that we can provide a positive experience for our visitors and the beauty of our natural environment and of the built environment of our towns and villages have a huge role to play in creating this positive visitor experience.
Anne O’Leary, a national adjudicator with the Tidy Towns Competition provided the participants with plenty of food for thought with her presentation on what adjudicators are looking for when they visit competing towns and villages during the competition. She included examples of best practice from various locations around the country and gave tips and advice on how to make the best use of existing streetscapes and iconic buildings.
Fiona Kelly and Suzanne Bogan from Donegal County Council provided the audience with information on incorporating sustainable waste and resource management principles and good practice techniques within the work of the committee. This area has become increasingly important in the overall competition and committees were urged to look at ways to increase their scores by introducing new practices into their ongoing activity.
In his address, Jonathon Officer from The Radisson Hotel Letterkenny provided an interesting business perspective and gave details of the various actions that the Radisson Hotel has put in place to manage their resources in a more sustainable way. He encouraged committees to work with businesses as well as residents in their local areas and clearly demonstrated that good sustainable practices also made good business sense.
The seminar concluded with participants being encouraged to visit a number of stands including the Letterkenny Men’s Shed project, Letterkenny Tidy Towns Committee, Donegal County Councils Litter Management Team and representatives from the Councils Communications Office.
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