Willow Park housing estate in Athlone has been nominated by Westmeath County Council to participate in the All Island Competition Pride of Place.
The judging for Pride of Place will take place next Wednesday, July 22, starting at the entrance to Willow Park Housing Estate, at 11am. Pride of Place is an all-island competition that recognises good work done in communities.
Residents in the 325-house estate are asking for help to have the area ready for adjudication eg by mowing grass, strimming footpaths, picking up litter, repainting fencing, or painting houses.
The competition is about people living in an area having pride in their area; working together to make Willow Park a great place to live. Locals will also be celebrating National Play Day on the day of the competition and having a family fun day for all.
Several meetings have taken place to help plan the event and there has been huge support from local residents and all the agencies working in the area. Lots of suggestions and ideas have been put forward which have been taken on board.
Judges will be met at the top of Willow Park by local residents and a marching band on Wednesday morning. They will walk through the estate to the community house, where they will be shown a presentation about the area. They will then visit the allotment and make their way to Willow Park Football Club where sports and other activities will take place. Local agencies that have supported the area will be there with a stand to meet the judges.
Willow Park are honoured to have been nominated for this prestigious award and local residents look forward to everyone in the community working together for the preparations and on the day itself.
The chairman of the local residents association Padraig Higgins said everyone is very excited about the nomination.
“It is a huge thing for us. It has given us great confidence. There is a great community spirit here. It is also a big challenge to make sure everything is painted and all lawns cut,” he told the Athlone Advertiser.
“Everyone will be out in their best colours on the day,” said Padraig.
Mayor of Athlone, Councillor Tom Farrell (Fine Gael ) said it was a great honour for Willow Park to be nominated and he wished them the best of luck in the competition.
“It is all about community and there is a fantastic community spirit there. There are a lot of different nationalities living there and it is great to see the whole community coming together,” he said.
