Mayo town in top three in national anti-litter league
WESTPORT has been ranked third out of 40 Irish towns and cities surveyed in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti-Litter League survey.
The town was found to be cleaner than European norms.
The good news from across the country is that there was a notable fall-off in the number of sites with large accumulations of litter or subject to dumping.
The survey marked a very strong performance for the tourist town, with eight out of the 10 sites surveyed in Westport getting the top litter grade - the remaining two sites just missed this grade.
An Taisce's report described Westport as 'one of the best in the country'.
The report set out: With so many top ranking sites, there are a few which deserve special mention - all of the approach roads created a positive first impression of the town; the residential area of Bruach na hAbhainne was very much deserving of the top litter grade and all features were in very good order at the small park adjacent to the Garda Station, home to the Paddington Bear statue.
R309 Castlebar Approach Road: Grade A. (from roundabout (at Knockranny Link Road) close to Circle K Express in to traffic lights at Castlecourt Hotel) - All elements along this route were in very good order, creating a positive first impression of Westport. It was excellent with regards to litter.
Westpoint Shopping Centre: Grade B+. The majority of this shopping centre environment was in good order, but the litter grade was brought down by some food related litter and tissues. The litter bins could do with freshening up, looking quite tired.
Deposit Return Scheme, Tesco: Grade A. This was a spotless ‘in-store’ facility, there was no litter in the immediate environs – well done to all concerned.
Bruach na hAbhainne Apartments: Grade A. Apart from some very minor litter items lining a perimeter fence, this residential area was very good with regards to litter and very much deserving of the top litter grade.
R330 Altamount Street approach: Grade A. A well-presented tree-lined route, with ‘olde’ style litter bins and fresh looking road signage. There was a lovely display of pot plants / window boxes to the front of a series of terraced houses. Apart from the railway bridge (which would benefit from some fresh paint), the remainder of the route was a fresh and welcoming one. The road was excellent with regards to litter.
Small park adjacent to the Garda Station: Grade A. There didn’t to be any signage indicating the name of this park, but the Tidy Towns sculpture and the Paddington Bear Bench were part of it. Seating, signage and planter box looked well. Apart from one alcohol can, there was a complete absence of litter throughout.
Westport Library: Grade A. There were minimal litter items in the immediate environs of Westport Library, with signage / bicycle parking, etc., in good order. A planter box outside the entrance looked somewhat neglected, but it wasn’t littered.
N59 Newport Approach: Grade A. Road surface / markings / signage, bollards and paving were all in good condition along this route. There was a virtual absence of litter throughout.
Holy Trinity Church: Grade A. An exceptionally clean environment which has been sensitively presented and maintained.
Bridge Street: Grade B+. The old style telephone box has been repurposed to house the defibrillator.
Seating, bicycle parking, paving, ‘olde style’ street lamps, low-lying shrubbery, tree planting, etc., all looked very well. Much of the street was good with regards to litter but there were too many cigarette butts, fast-food wrappers and sweet papers for the top litter grade.