National
Tidy TownsS
2001
Judges
Report for
Ballincollig
County Cork
OVERALL
DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
Many
thanks for your very thorough submission which was most useful on the day. The
map clearly out-lined the areas which had been improved upon over the last year.
The presence of a Local County Council office must be useful in terms of the
high level of support you have garnered from them. The adjudicator was pleased
to note that ungrounding of cables has commenced. It was also interesting to
observe that both guide dogs and visually impaired train here and hence the use
of special paving finishes at foot path junctions. The encouragement of
bi-lingual signage is apparent. The competitions in relation to each category of
your tidy town�s presentation are certainly paying off. The tidy towns section
of the parish website must provide great interest in Ballincollig. The
adjudicator noted your problems in relation to absentee landlords and traffic.
Hopefully these issues will resolve themselves in the not too distant future.
THE
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Most
of the buildings along the very long Main Street and in the Shopping Centres
were presented to a high standard, although there were minor issues to be
resolved such as the Market Gate which appeared to be abandoned and one or two
grubby signs. Projecting plastic signs should also be discouraged. Many of the
buildings sported cheerful window boxes and hanging baskets. The trees planted
along Main Street con-tribute greatly to this aspect of the town�s
presentation. The Oriel House and its landscaping to the front were presented to
a high standard. This is an attractive combination of stone wall with flowers
overhanging the neatly cut grassy verge.
LANDSCAPING
The
new interventions to the east side of the town looked marvellous - the limestone
structure and round-about filled with roses and trees. The landscaped area
opposite was also well maintained. The planting at the East Gate comprising of
the curved ramped stone wall with railing and boxes filled with petunias to the
front looked quite dramatic. The planting at the junction of Main Street and the
Square is coming along very nicely. In terms of further enhancement in this
category, perhaps some planting and trees might soften the rather harsh
appearance of Ballincollig Shopping Centre Car Park.
WILDLIFE
AND NATURAL AMENITIES
The
Regional Park with its watersides, trees and historic buildings is a wonderful
asset so close to the town centre. Hopefully your signage in relation to
wildlife will be in place for next year�s competition - the adjudicator noted
your problems in this regard. The proposed Sl� na Sl�inte route should also be
a wonderful initiative for the town
LITTER
CONTROL
The
standard in this category of the competition was quite good although there were
one or two problem areas. A light scattering was evident along the Main Street,
along the Killarney Road and by the phone box beyond the Statoil Station.
TIDINESS
The
apparently abandoned car showrooms with its extremely grubby boundary wall and
weedy forecourt area on the Cork side of the town creates a bad impression at
this entrance to Ballincollig. At the other end of the town perhaps the concrete
post and wire fence to the rugby club (which looks quite unfortunate) could be
replaced with a stone wall or hedging of an indigenous variety such as beech or
hawthorn. Two rather grubby out buildings on the Killarney approach should to
re-whitewashed before next year�s competition.
RESIDENTIAL
AREAS
The
standard in this category of the competition was very good - with both mature
existing estates and in particular new estates contributing well to this
category. Of particular note were Manor Hill Estate, Fr. Sexton Park and the
houses opposite with their traditional cottage hedging to the front, Muskerry
Estate and Coolroe Heights with its neatly cut grass, nameplate and surrounding
permanent planting. The high standard of landscaping to new estates is quite
magnificent.
ROADS,
STREETS AND BACK AREAS
Approach
roads, the Main Street and rear areas were all presented to a high standard on
adjudication day. The magnificent nameplates at each end of the village were
admired and look extremely welcoming. The roundabout at the west end of the
village could perhaps be developed along the lines of that at the east end which
looked truly marvelous on the day
GENERAL
IMPRESSION
Ballincollig
is a busy vibrant town with much through traffic. It continues to improve at a
steady pace and there is evidence of much enthusiasm from its residents in
relation to its appearance.
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