Community Involvement & Planning
Welcome to the 2017 SuperValu National Tidy Towns Competition and thank you for this year’s fine submission with its Five-Year Plan and helpful map; the latter would have been perfect if the projects for this year had been colour coded and cross referenced to details in the entry form by number. The Moyvane committee have been successful in developing a fruitful working relationship with other groups which have an interest in community development and well-being; the school liaison officer is invaluable for engaging the school children in social and environmental issues that affect the quality of community. It is good to note that the committee have access to a local website to communicate Tidy Towns news and events in addition to the more traditional media. Moyvane has certainly achieved a beautiful appearance and fine amenity facilities since the development association was formed in 1985, it must be gratifying to have achieved your goal.
Built Environment and Streetscape
Newtownsandes Co-Op looks really well as does Speedys (a.k.a.) Nolan’s Bar and Lounge; The church and its grounds and boundary walls look well as do murals on a building in Church Street. Marion Hall looks beautiful in respect of its roadside presentation and the boundary wall to the sports fields/Moyvane GAA is excellent; tree planting and landscaping to roadside look great, hopefully the car parking area will be resurfaced. The replacement of the gate at the site of the entrance to the old school with a replica of the original is a good link with your heritage as is work accomplished in relation to the Old Well and the original church bell; hopefully the site will be used in the future for Parish functions.
Landscaping and Open Spaces
Landscaped roadside areas beyond the sports fields leading into the village are superb. Landscaping on the Glyn Road is an excellent introduction to Moyvane however Montbretia planted should not be allowed to go unchecked as it is an invasive plant. The maintenance of planted areas and container planting throughout the village is acknowledged and makes a strong visual statement together with the painting of containers in the village colours which is a nice touch. The maintenance of green areas is top-class.
Wildlife and Natural Amenities
Congratulations on the extension of your Nature Trail and the planting of 1200 native trees, together with hedgerow, this is a wonderful amenity for the local and wider community not to mention the requirements of wildlife. It is a real motivator to have walks marked for distance and ease. The refurbishment of bridges on the trail is excellent as are other initiatives which include a new path and riverbank protection work. Has a habitat survey been carried out for Moyvane and environs? Have invasive species been spotted let us have this information with next year’s entry if available; last year’s adjudicator made some good suggestions which should be explored to make further progress under this heading. As note above try to check the spread of Montebretia. The community playground is nicely presented and car parking outside well organised.
Sustainable Waste And Resource Management
Well done to the Murhur National School pupils for their 1st Green Flag; the clothes collections throughout the year by the school, Girls Football team and the Youth Club all play their part in waste prevention and the Moyvane recycling point is noted. The committee should now consider a community wide rainwater harvesting initiative to make savings on watering landscaped areas and containers. The website might be used more to get the message across to the community. zerowaste.ie is a good site to visit to gain a global perspective on the issue of waste.
Tidiness and Litter Control
Litter control is good in Moyvane, the regular litter picks are effective. There is no mention in your entry form of participation in the National Spring Clean or other litter events. It is good to note that the monitoring of the recycling point has reduced the instance of dumping at this site. The segregation of litter for recycling is laudable; it should also be analysed to identify its source, type, location and frequency of occurrence in order to formulate an appropriate prevention strategy thereby reducing the need for so many litter picks. Overhead service cables look quite bad together with their associated street poles; we note from your plan that you are working to prioritize a number of issues with KCC and that this is one of them, we hope for a successful outcome. The hoarding fitted to the windows and doors of the vacant premises should be painted. The Estuary Garage (Lynchs) looks shabby and needs urgent remedial treatment. The site adjacent to Kennelly’s Home Value could be a bit tidier and the gable wall of the Old Star Bar could be refurbished due to the removal of planting.
Residential Areas
Bruach na Gaile residential estate should have its name-stone refurbished and it kerbs maintained weed free. The Ashgrove development looks really well. There are many beautiful gardens to private dwellings and nice roadside presentations however some boundary walls need attention, natural stone boundary walls were admired.
Roads, Streets and Back Areas
The entrance to the village from the Glin Road needs resurfacing. Street nameplates look well and help create a stronger sense of place in Moyvane. All field gates should be painted the same colour (perhaps the village colours?) hopefully additional funding will become available for footpath refurbishment soon! Street furniture is well maintained.
Concluding Remarks
Moyvane was a pleasure to visit and to experience it’s Nature Trail, well done on all community achievements over the past few decades.
