Tidy Towns Entry by DesignTactics

Entry Form

r u o y e t e l p m o c o How t m r o F y r t n E s n w TidyTo This Entry Form is your opportunity to highlight the progress your town or village has made throughout the year and to outline your future plans. As such, it will form the basis for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adjudication, so please complete carefully and in as much detail as you can. Any further information you may wish to provide for context, (such as a short plan, photographs or press cuttings) may attract additional marks and should be forwarded with this form. Your TidyTowns Handbook gives more details on why a plan is important and how to prepare one.

Identifying your priorities The Entry Form is divided into sections:

Section 1 deals with your committee details. Section 2 deals with the main categories in the competition. Section 3 allows you to map your area and add additional notes. Section 4 outlines the terms and conditions of the competition, including the criteria for all the prizes.

When filling out Section 2, it is important that you clearly state all the issues you wish to bring to the attention of the adjudicators. Where this involves areas or items of interest in your town or village, please show their location on your map. Further details on this are available in your TidyTowns Handbook.

Please note our new address! TidyTowns Unit Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Newtown Road, Wexford, Co. Wexford Tel: 053 911 7347

New Entrants

The information you provide is for the sole use of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for the purposes of organising and promoting TidyTowns and related initiatives.

If you are new to the competition, please remember not to stretch your resources too far by focussing equally on every category. At this stage, identifying the issues of immediate concern is the priority and then building on those for future years. Also, if you are entering on behalf of a large urban area, please note that the qualifying area for TidyTowns is no more than an area of one-kilometre radius from the urban centre. This area should be marked clearly on your map to The TidyTowns Unit will avoid any confusion during adjudication. Rural towns and villages endeavour to return any will be mainly assessed within the town or village signs or, where additional materials you supply, none exist, within the speed limit signs. Please note, however, but we recommend you forward that approach roads also form part of the competition.

Large-scale works As TidyTowns involves adjudicating the area itself, as well as the work of the committee, the adjudicators know that many issues involved are beyond the capacity of a committee to resolve on its own. However, any efforts made to engage with the relevant agencies will be taken into account when awarding marks. It is, therefore, important to identify these efforts under each category.

It is recommended that TidyTowns Committees obtain appropriate insurance to cover their activities.

Email If your TidyTowns Committee has regular email access, please make sure you provide us with your email address. This facility greatly enhances our ability to communicate with you about TidyTowns and related topics on an ongoing basis.

copies rather than originals in case of loss or damage.

Closing date for entries 20th May!

Section 1 About You! Town / Area / Village / Island

Organisation Name

_________________________________________

County

Contact Name

_________________________________________

Region

Address

_________________________________________

Last Year of Entry _________________________________________

_________________________________________ Phone _________________________________________ Fax _________________________________________ Email _________________________________________ Web _________________________________________

Population Category Please put a tick mark into the box below that matches your population size most accurately: Prize Category

Population

Village

A (Under 200) B (201 to 1,000)

Small Town

C (1,001 to 2,500) D (2,501 to 5,000)

Large Town

E (5,001 to 10,000) F (10,001 to 15,000)

Large Urban Centre

G (15,001 to 25,000) H (25,001 and over)

I understand and agree to be bound by the rules of TidyTowns. Signed (on behalf of entrant)

________________________________________________

Date ___________________________________________

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Section 2 Planning Your Activities

Overall Developmental Approach

50 Marks

Involvement Waste of the local community in committee activities, Overall Development Building partnership with local businessesApproach and agencies, work Environment carried out Minimisation in a planned and targeted manner. Please indicate numbers involved on the committee:

How do you engage with your local schools?

___________________________________________

_________________________________________

Please indicate level of voluntary commitment (no. of meetings, general involvement of community, etc.):

_________________________________________ _________________________________________

___________________________________________

General comments on your experience and on the competition itself:

___________________________________________

_________________________________________

Please indicate agencies and bodies that have supported your activities (e.g. have provided sponsorship, resources, funding, etc.):

_________________________________________

___________________________________________

_________________________________________

Residential Landscaping Tidyness If your area holds any festivals or events, please Areas ___________________________________________ indicate the relevant dates for this year: How do you communicate with your community (newsletter, public meetings, etc.)? ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

_________________________________________ _________________________________________

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The Built Environment

50 Marks

Conservation and presentation of buildings; treatment of derelict Waste Overall Development Buildinguse sites; design, extent and suitability of civic amenities; general Minimisation Approach Environment of Irish language. Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________

Waste Overall Development __________________________________________ Minimisation Approach __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Wildlife __________________________________________

Landscaping

50 Marks

Residential Landscaping AppropriateAreas selection and siting of trees, shrubs

Tidyness

and flowers for year-round effect, maintenance of planted areas, management of open spaces. Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________ __________________________________________ General Residential Landscaping __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Impression Areas __________________________________________

__________________________________________

Section 2

Wildlife and Natural Amenities

50 Marks

Waste Development Wildlife of natural amenities Conservation and wildlife Overall areas, encouragement Minimisation Approach of wildlife, amenity walks and nature trails, appropriate access. Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

_________________________________________

___________________________

Litter Control

_________________________________________

50 Marks

General Residential Landscaping Impression Absence of litterAreas and dumping, existence of regular

litter patrols and other planned activities including involvement of schools, promotion of anti-litter awareness. Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________

Litter Control Wildlife __________________________________________

Waste Minimisation

Overall D Ap

__________________________________________

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Tidiness

30 Marks

General lack of clutter in location and condition of signage, unused lamp poles, blocked footpaths, unsightly electric cables, absence of Residential Landscapingcontrol of weed Tidyness graffiti and fly-posting, traffic management, growth on kerbs. Areas Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________

Waste Minimisation

20 Marks

Promotion of best practice, highlighting facilities, schools' initiatives, segregating litter in clean-ups, working with local businesses and agencies. Summary of projects undertaken for this year: __________________________________________ Litter Control __________________________________________ Projects planned: __________________________________________ __________________________________________

Wildlife

Waste Minimisation

Litter Control

Wildlife

Waste Minimisation

Section 2 Residential Areas

40 Marks

Elements of the above, in particular maintenance of boundary walls, fences, gardens and communal Roads, Streets General open spaces, appropriate Residential planting, estate signage and good planning. & Back Areas Impression Areas Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________

__________________________________________ Litter Control Wildlife

__________________________________________ Waste Overall

__________________________________________

__________________________________________ Minimisation

_________________________________________

__________________________________________

Roads, Streets and Back Areas 50 Marks Elements of the above, in particular presentation of approach roads, streets, connecting roads, laneways and bridges. Summary of projects undertaken for this year:

Projects planned:

__________________________________________

Roads, Streets General __________________________________________ &__________________________________________ Back Areas Impression

Residential __________________________________________

__________________________________________

Areas __________________________________________

Litter Control

General Impression

Wildlife

10 Marks

Presentation of area as an integrated centre, including evidence of exceptional effort to overcome a General particularly difficult problem.Roads, Streets & Back Areas

Impression

Issues faced: _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

Section 3 Mapping your Area Rough sketch of town with street and place names. Please mark on map any items you wish to ensure are seen by the adjudicators.

Section 3 Notes on your map

Section 4

TidyTowns -Terms and Conditions General

Main Prizes

1. These terms and conditions together with any specific rules set out in the TidyTowns Handbook or the TidyTowns Entry Form are the competition rules (“the Rules”). By entering the competition, entrants agree to be bound by the Rules.

11. Main prizes are the prizes awarded to entrants by virtue of their overall score in the Competition, assessed under the following categories:

2. The TidyTowns Competition (“the Competition”) is organised by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government ("the Department”). In the event of any dispute regarding these Rules, and all other matters relating to the Competition, the decision of the Department will be final. 3. To enter the Competition, the entrant must be a body entering on behalf of a town, village, island or stand-alone area ("town") and should be working towards being broadly representative of all sectors residing or working in the town. 4. Only one entrant per town is allowed. Where a town has more than one entrant, the Department will, at its absolute discretion, select one to participate in the Competition. 5. Competition entries should be made in the manner and by the closing date specified in the Rules. Late entry may be accepted in exceptional circumstances. 6. The Department cannot accept responsibility for entries lost, damaged or delayed, and proof of posting cannot be accepted as proof of delivery. 7. Prize winners will be selected by a panel of adjudicators appointed by the Department or by sponsors as appropriate. Unless otherwise stated in the Rules, all prizes will be awarded to the entrant. Adjudication will take place between May and September. 8. Prize winners will be announced and prizes awarded on a date or dates decided by the Department. Failure to claim a prize in the manner specified by the Department may result in the prize being withdrawn or selection of an alternate winner. The Department reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.

Subject Category Overall Developmental Approach The Built Environment Landscaping Wildlife and Natural Amenities

Litter Control Tidiness Waste Minimisation Residential Areas Roads, Streets and Back Areas General Impression Total

Marking Structure 50 50 50 50 50 30 20 40 50 10 400

and, unless otherwise stated, consist of a cash prize and a certificate.

12. The overall title, Ireland’s Tidiest Town is awarded to the entrant with the highest score in the Competition. In addition to a cash prize and certificate, the winner receives a perpetual trophy (which must be subsequently returned to the Department on request), a plaque and funding towards a day of celebration the following year. 13. The titles Tidiest Village, Tidiest Small Town, Tidiest Large Town and Tidiest Large Urban Centre are awarded to the entrant with the highest score in population categories A & B, C & D, E & F and G & H respectively. In addition to a cash prize and certificate, the winner receives a perpetual trophy, which must be subsequently returned to the Department on request. Population categories are as follows –

Population category

Population

Under 200

201 to 1,000

9. The Department cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition or as a result of accepting any prize.

1,001 to 2,500

2,501 to 5,000

5,001 to 10,000

10. Information supplied will only be used for the purposes of organising and promoting the Competition and related initiatives.

10,001 to 15,000

15,001 to 25,000

25,001 and over

Qualifying Prizes 14. The Regional Awards are awarded to the first placed entrant in each of the following regions

Region Dublin Midlands & East Mid West North West South East South West West

Counties Dublin (City), Dublin (Fingal), Dublin (South), Dublin (Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown) Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford Cork (North), Cork (South), Cork (West), Kerry Galway, Mayo, Roscommon

15. The County Awards are awarded to the first, second and third placed entrant in each county, as described in paragraph 14 above. 16. A Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal is awarded to an entrant with a score falling within a specified range of the overall winner as follows Population A&B Population C&D Population E&F Population G&H

Gold Within 5 Within 10 Within 15 Within 20

Silver Within 10 Within 15 Within 20 Within 30

Bronze Within 15 Within 20 Within 30 Within 40

In addition to a cash prize, medal and certificate, medal winners are entitled to a road sign stating the medal won, erected by the relevant local authority in accordance with guidelines issued by the Department.

17. The Endeavour Awards are awarded to the entrants in each county that made the biggest percentage improvement on the previous year's score. 18. The Gaeltacht Award is awarded to the highest scoring entrant from a Gaeltacht area. 19. The Island Award is awarded to the highest scoring entrant that is an island not connected to the mainland by a bridge, is cut off daily from the mainland by the tide, is permanently inhabited and is not in private ownership.

20. The highest scoring entrant in each population category will qualify to participate in Ireland's Best Kept Towns which involves representative towns from the TidyTowns competition and Northern Ireland's Best Kept Awards, subject to the rules of this competition. 21. The highest scoring entrant in population categories A, B, C & D inclusive and the highest scoring entrant in population categories E, F, G & H inclusive will qualify to participate in the European competition Entente Florale, subject to the rules of this competition. 22. Other initiatives may arise from time to time and qualifying towns will be contacted by the Department as required.

Special Competitions 23. Special Competitions are TidyTowns initiatives organised in parallel to the main competition to highlight particular environmental aspects. Prizes are awarded as outlined in the associated special competition documentation. Entry is open to all TidyTowns entrants as well as other interested individuals or groups making a contribution to improving their local environment. These competitions may vary from year to year. 24. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Special Competitions will include competitions on:

Biodiversity Bring Bank Award Climate Change Award The Heritage Award Sustainable Development Tree Project Award Urban Village Award Can It Award

25. Entry into Special Competitions is purely voluntary and non-entry will not affect performance in the main competition.

This form is also available as a Word or PDF file from www.TidyTowns.ie

and www.SuperValu.ie Please send all entries by post to the address below. For more details, please consult

your TidyTowns Handbook, or call 053 911 7347 email: TidyTowns@environ.ie or check out www.TidyTowns.ie TidyTowns Unit Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Newtown Road, Wexford, Co. Wexford