Dalkey Tidy Town’s Committee is a very active one and the adjudicator was pleased to note that you have your own website. You seem to have a strong relationship with various bodies including the Business Association, The Heritage Centre and the County Council. The cross section of the various backgrounds of the committee is obviously paying off. Dalkey appears to have a very distinct and close knit community. Congratulations on your win in the Tidy Districts Competition. You seem to have a number of interesting and unusual projects underway and planned for the future

The streets of the town generally looked well cared for and sharply presented on adjudication day - in particular, Castle Street with its Heritage Centre and Dalkey Castle looked quite magnificent. Dalkey is fortunate to have a number of attractive shop fronts some of which are traditional in style and some modem including Glynis Robbins, The Dalkey Pharmacy and Photogenic Photographers in the vicinity of the Railway Station. The Post Office looked quite fresh and the stone church looked well. The Queen’s Public House was very busy on a sunny day with many people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. The Railway Station looked quite charming and was extremely well presented. Your plans in relation to the restoration of the bandstand in Dillon’s Park are to be commended and the adjudicators look forward to seeing the results.

St Patrick’s Square was simply and attractively presented. A planted tub feature at the comer opposite the AIB Bank at the end of Railway Road was admired. The Ramparts area looks well but provides a rather narrow access point and laneway, which make it difficult for two people to pass at the one time. It was being well used on adjudication day but unfortunately the odd patch of litter was evident on the path on the far side of the railway bridge and graffiti was evident to the bridge itself. The graveyard area beside the Heritage Centre looked well with an attractive gateway.Your plans to plant and pave the rear area car park of Eurospar and to re-landscape Dillon’s Park are to be commended.

Your development of the Ramparts area is to be commended and it sported many unusual wild flowers in its grassy banks. The adjudicators look forward to reading research by the Leo Group in order to facilitate information boards on the flora and fauna of the area. The County Council management plans for the open spaces and coastal areas within the town are also looked forward to.

First impressions were that the town was quite free of litter on adjudication day. However, closer inspection revealed a few problem areas such as an entrance area at the town end of the Coliemore Road and the area at the welcome sign on this road also sported some litter. Litterbins appeared to be quite full- presumably due to the good weather - you should consider the option of more frequent collection on days such as these. The litterbins themselves could do with an overhaul in some cases. A couple of papers were evident on the track leading to the Ramparts, at the entrance to the town on the Sandycove side, around the phone boxes on the Main Street, at St. Patrick’s Square, at the railway station and in front of the church. However, these were very minor outbreaks in terms of the overall impression. Vigilance is important in these areas.

The Bring Centre in Killiney Hill Park was quite neat but it would probably benefit from a pulling in area in order to access it more easily. At the moment anybody stopping to use it blocks the access into the park area itself. Your plans for an essay competition and the sponsoring of transition year students to visit Airfield Recycling Centre are to be commended. Composting workshops are an excellent idea as is your encouragement of local businesses to be aware to be green! Your plans to hold seminars in the autumn and your surveys in relation to businesses and their waste management policies are to be commended.

The town of Dalkey has generally a neat and ordered appearance both along main streets and to laneways. Do try to discourage advertising hoardings, as there are a number of very large prominent ones within the town. That opposite the AIB bank at the bottom of Railway Road was particularly noted at the gable and it was quite tatty and flaky in appearance. The post box at St. Patrick’s Avenue should be repainted, as it appeared quite rusty. Weed control was a problem to kerbs at the parking area forecourt outside the railway station, along boundary walls on Coliemore Road and at the tramway yard.

There are many good modern housing developments in the town such as the Paddocks and Ulverton Close. These are both estates which have matured well and are well maintained. Dalkey is fortunate in relation to the wealth of magnificent houses on both Coliemore Road and Sorrento Terrace. The attractive multi-coloured houses with gables to the roadside at the corner of Castle Street and Dalkey Avenue were greatly admired and would benefit from a re-paint. St. Patrick’s Avenue and Square sports some very attractively restored cottages and the adjudicator was pleased to note the use of traditional timber doors, which were quite in keeping with the character of the houses.

Welcome signage along approach road is most attractive and was admired. The Sandycove Road affords the visitor a magnificent view to the rocky backdrop behind the town. Some of the laneways - although many were in good condition -looked a little shabby in comparison to the well maintained main streets of the town. The tramway courtyard area appeared quite weedy on adjudication day.

We note your problems in relation to large advertising hoardings - even if you were to approach the owners of the buildings to which they are attached in order to ensure that the buildings themselves are maintained this would make all the difference in the world. Dalkey is an attractive and unusually unique town with a wealth of architectural heritage and close proximity to the marvellous coastal bay area and Dalkey Island. It is a magnificent town to visit in such close proximity to the centre of the city.