Tidy Towns

Tidy towns groups have been preserving and enhancing the local environment for the past five decades. Almost every town in Ireland has benefited from the actions of local volunteers over the years.

For more information check Tidy Towns , Citizens Information and National Spring Clean

2009 County Results

1st Place - Aughrim 302 points
2nd Place - Stratford on Slaney 282 points
3rd Place - Wicklow Town 266 points

Volunteering with your local Committee

Whatever your skills or interests your local Tidy Town Committee will have a project that you can get involved in to assist in the development of your community. Contact members of your local committee or watch the local press to find out what is happening in your community. If you want to contact your local group but do not have contact details contact the Environmental Awareness Office to find out contact details for your local group.

Wicklow County Council Services for Tidy Towns

Wicklow County Council works with Tidy Town Groups across a range of services including the Area Offices, Community and Enterprise, the Heritage Office and the Environmental Awareness Office. We aim to provide the best available advice and information to local groups either from our services or through referral to the most appropriate source of information.

The Environmental Awareness Office provides talks or workshops in local communities. Wicklow County Council would like to see the thirty four tidy towns groups have more opportunities to interact and share ideas. Workshops have been organised for representatives of local groups. If you would like a specific theme addressed through a workshop please let us know.

Wicklow County Council is also facilitating contact between groups through email contact lists so that any groups can pose a question that another group may have an answer too. Funding and grants, which is applicable to Tidy Towns, is outlined below.

Apart form the Councils Area Engineers directly helping Tidy Towns Committees and Residents Associations by way of street cleaning and footpath renewal the Council tries to channel money direct to these organisations in two ways. A Tidy Estates/ Main Street competition is run annually and in the current year €7,600 in prizes were distributed among twenty-three prize-winners. Wicklow County Council also offer a Tree Planting Grant scheme to these organisations whereby we give a grant of at least 50% towards the cost of planting Deciduous Trees, but not shrubs or flowers.

In deciding the amount of grant the all in cost is taken into account, which would include the cost of the trees, stakes and ties but not the cost of planting if a private contractor is used. In the current year Wicklow County Council allocated grants totalling €10,900 to eleven organisations.

For information on your nearest Tidy Towns Group contact:
Environmental Awareness Office
LoCall 1890 222276
e-mail eao@wicklowcoco.ie