Castlebar, which was shortlisted for the Large Town Category, fared well in a judging report for the recent Ireland’s Best Kept Town awards, however a number of key areas need to be developed upon in order for the town to win in this category.
For presentation of buildings in Castlebar the judges gave the town a score of 40 out of 45 with comments that “changes have taken place in the business areas and these add to a brighter and more modern town for the future”.
The town received 40 out of 45 points for the appearance of approach roads, streets, and public facilities. The report concluded that approach roads are first class with tidy verges and good tree planting. Both older and new streets are tidy, however car parking areas are generally poorly maintained.
For the presentation of natural environment, the town was nine points short of the top score. The report said: “The river area and Lough Lannagh are attractive but tidiness is not a priority. Tree lined roadways nicely trimmed and roundabouts attractively planted.”
For the presentation of residential areas and private frontages 19 points were awarded out of 25 and for general tidiness the town scored 35 out of 45 points.
The judges felt that litter blackspots were around the Dunne’s Stores area and the McDonald’s forecourt and that car parks could be tidier, “particularly Lough Lannagh car park where bins were full causing more litter around them”.
The general impression marks which the town was given was 12 out of 15, with an overall score of 204 out of 250 points.
Thirteen villages, small and large towns, and large urban areas were selected from an entry of 800, both north and south of the border. The competition is jointly organised by the Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council in association with the Department of the Environment.
