Welcome to the 2008 TidyTowns competition and thank you for your the excellent plan and map which greatly assisted adjudication on the day as well as giving a clear overview of your overall objectives. We understand your difficulty in recruiting volunteers when many people commute. Often people who work long hours and have other commitments are reluctant to commit to volunteering on an ongoing basis. Have you considered creating a Best Street / Estate competition for Dalkey?  This approach has worked well in other areas as it allows people to focus solely on their own area which tends to attract more interest, while indirectly broadening your support base. Participation in high profile national events as Heritage Week or Biodiversity week could also build up attention.

The sewage scheme upgrade at Coliemore Harbour is a very positive step in ensuring cleaner water in the Dalkey area. This will be beneficial not only for the residents of the area, but also for all sea life. The Garda station was painted a lovely light blue colour and fit into the beachside atmosphere of Dalkey. The preservation of the Castle and information on its history is very well done. The commemorative stone seat dedicated to Harry Latham, local historian, is a wonderful sign of appreciaton of a person involved in the community, The Castle Park School is a lovely building for children to attend and landscaping was actually underway on the day of adjudication. The Health centre is well landscaped, but we were successful in locating the new water feature here. The adjudicator’s presumption is that it must have been at the rear of the property and not in public view. The Eurospar main street frontage was done in a traditional style which benefited the overall village look of the area. All the shop fronts in this area were well painted and maintained. The Church of Ireland and the Harrold Boys National School were in good condition.

The landscaping in the Eurospar car park was well landscaped and colourful. We hope that this does help you counteract the litter that has accumulated along these areas in the past. The raising of the shrubberies should stop littering catching in the base and even if litter does form here, it will be easier to remove. We are pleased to hear that a native species scheme devised for Harold boys school and look forward to viewing this next year. The Dalkey heritage signs were appealing and stood out against the landscape. However, some of them did need a slight clean. The Health Centre had good landscaping at the front but as referred to above we were unable to locate the water feature mentioned in your report. The car park area was well kept and the stone wall allowed it to fit into its heritage surroundings well. The town was bursting with colour from hanging baskets. Because of the traditional village feel of the area, the hanging baskets do fit in well, where as other locations this might be too much. Visitor information signs well maintained and informative. The area around the castle was planted with colourful flowers. The stone work here was immaculate and there were no weeds at all. The sign for the castle needs some attention as it is a bit worn in places. Seating beside the beach was plentiful and well maintained as were the stone walls.

The Castle Park Primary school pilot scheme to educate children on life cycle of plants and local floral biodiversity is an innovative and intriguing programme. It is wonderful that you were able to obtain the area near Archibald’s castle for planting. We look forward to hearing about the success of the scheme at next year’s adjudication. Hopeful it is a programme that can be replicated at other schools in the area. The native hedgerow scheme community project between DTT Harold Boys primary school and DLRCC Parks department is a great example of bringing community needs and education together. By having children involved in projects such as this they can feel a real sense of accomplishment which assists in instilling an interest in protecting their environment in the long term. The work DTT is undertaking in organising biodiversity project on school grounds will also have this result. We note your work towards creating a wetland environment with local flora to attract wildlife to the area. We wish you well with this project and look forward to viewing the area in the future. Your involvement with Birdwatch Ireland to provide nest boxes at Maidens rock will also assist in protecting wild life in the area and your work on Red squirrel conservation is also to be commented.

We are pleased to hear that you partner with the schools to participate in the Spring Clean event. This is an important event as it is a great way to bring everyone in the community out together for one day to tackle litter as a whole. It is also a great way for people who can not make ongoing commitments to be involved. In general Dalkey was reasonably litter free. However, there were some areas that contained litter such as the area outside AIB bank and the area outside The Castle. There was a lot of rubbish in the corner of the Eurospar car park including a lot of cigarette butts. It would be good to provide a cigarette disposal unit in this area to reduce this. There were also rubbish bags that appeared to have been dumped in the laneway leading from the car park down to the main street.

We are pleased to here about the composting at Harold boys national school. We wish Castle Park, Loreto National School and Harold Boys National School the best of luck in working towards obtaining a green flag. With the high level of restaraunts and cafes, have you considered encouraging a compost scheme for organic kitchen waste? Information on reducing waste within the hospitality sector could also be distributed and educational sessions run on this topic. By reducing waste these businesses will not only be assisting the environment but will also reduce their expenditure by diverting this waste from landfill.

Dalkey definitely has an overall tidy appearance which is great for such a busy Dublin suburb. The parking area next to church could be better signed on the main street and the signs at the Castle really need to be repaired. The footpaths were generally in good condition and no weeds were evident in the main public areas. There is a problem with graffiti which will need to be tackled.

Residential areas were generally well maintained throughout the town. The little cottages up behind Eurospar were particularly delightful and the central square was very well maintained. Templemore villas also feature wonderful traditional residences. Have you considered running a Best Estate or Best Street programme to drive stndards even higherr while indirectly broadening your support base. This has worked well in other areas.

Installation of trees and additional shrub planters at certain area on St Patrick’s avenue has increased the appeal of the area. The winding streets in the centre or Dalkey add to the village appeal of the area. St Patrick’s Road was clean and tidy on the day of adjudication. The entrance roads were reasonably tidy and well signed, although some of the road surfaces on the back street areas were a bit rough.

Dalkey is a lovely traditional town and contains some wonderful old shop fronts and residences. Your efforts
are really paying off and we wish you well in your future endeavours.

While we would generally agree with the first round adjudication, there a few additional items we would like to bring to your attention. Advertising hoardings should be discouraged if possible - there are quite a number throughout the village, which give roadsides a rather cluttered appearance. The floral displays throughout Dalkey looked very colourful, on the day. People were sitting out enjoying the summer’s day outside the Queen’s pub, which made a very cheerful impression, and gives Dalkey a lively atmosphere. The village was in good condition from the point of view of litter control on second adjudication day. One problem area in relation to this category of the competition was discovered, however, when attempting to locate the water feature behind the Health Centre (which we were able to do on the day), where litter and weed control was a problem. There was also evidence of dead weeds to the car park of Eurospar, although the floral displays were admired. Weed control was also a problem at the Green Road. The new seating area and hard landscaped area was admired on Coliemore Road, affording the viewer a marvelous view to the island and the waterside. The colourful planters along the waterside at Bulloch Harbour were also admired, as was the incidental landscaped space to the steps opposite. Dalkey has maintained its unique village character and continues to perform well in the competition. Congratulations are due to its dedicated and hardworking committee.