Another Gold Medal for Malahide

Congratulations to the Tidy Town Group in winning another Gold medal at this year's competition.

Malahide got 289 points this year, up two on last year, while the overall competition winner, Tallanstown in County Louth, received 308 points.

In our category, the highest scoring town was Kilkenny at 306 points while the highest scoring town in Fingal was Skerries at 301 points.

We still have some way to go to win this competition outright but we are now well on that road.

Below is the Judges report on Malahide that seems to be full of positives.

Overall Development Approach:
Thank you for a most comprehensive and detailed entry. Thank you for including your new plan and well done for taking on board so much of the last adjudicator’s report. Your plans are ambitious and far-reaching but you have retained the core values of the competition. Well done on the use of modern technology for communicating with your members – this is the first time the adjudicator has read about a TidyTowns Blog. Great!

The Built Environment:
The Marina looked really well on the day of the visit – it was a beautiful day and the perfect conditions to see Malahide! The train station looks great: living heritage. The Garda station must be one of the nicest in the country. The Grand Hotel looks as good as ever. St. James’ Terrace looks good too. There are some really fine shopfronts, pubs leading the way on quality and conservation of old styles. However, even some of the newest shops looked very well and all around was lots of floral decoration. The library is a lovely building.

Landscaping:
A very high standard of landscaping was seen almost throughout. New street and Main Street were very well adorned and the marina area looked very good. Is the additional seating in place?

Wildlife and Natural Amenities:
Well done on all the projects you have underway to date. It’s great to see a group celebrating Biodiversity Year and Week. The adjudicator could not locate the wildflower project area. You might wish to work on the map before next year! Do work closely with Fingal County Council’s Biodiversity Officer on these projects. As last year’s adjudicator pointed out, highly important sites are on your doorstep and raising awareness of these will be very important.The Demesne is just superb. Hundreds of people were there on adjudication day and it didn’t feel even slightly crowded! There are a range of habitats here and this is an ideal venue for outings and project work.

Litter Control:
Litter was seen in several locations on adjudication day. Most of this was around the marina and main cross roads. However, this is not an insurmountable problem and your ongoing anti-litter work is to be commended. Your plan sets out a good roadmap for progress, particularly in terms of awareness.

Waste Minimisation:
The adjudicator isn’t sure that you’ve grasped the core task at hand in this category. You are advised to read the Tidy Towns Handbook on how to proceed in this section of the competition. This category is not about recycling but on the prevention of waste arising in the first instance. You are advised to work with the schools on this section of the competition. You could also get advice from Fingal County Council’s environmental awareness officer.

Tidiness:
Some areas for improvement remain. There are some dirty signposts (eg Main street), poor weed control (eg Marina walk), unfilled planters (eg at public toilets) and unpainted railings (eg Tennis Courts). Well done on the appointment of specialist teams for graffiti, weeds etc.

Residential Areas:
A very high standard is seen among the many houses and gardens in the estates and individual houses of Malahide. Some estate signs seem to be missing or perhaps obscured. Well done for getting talking to residents’ groups this is a very important step. Again, dedicated litter-patrols are the way to go. How many of these do you have?

Roads, Streets and Back Areas:
Well done for your far-sighted approach to this category. The establishment of walking routes is a great initiative. Any plans to make cycling safer or easier? This town is lovely to travel about on a bike and the adjudicator was pleased to see several cyclists and lots of parked bikes at the station! There are some damaged kerbstones opposite St. James’ Terrace and missing flag stones on the Marina Walk. The flags idea sounds great. It looks good in other towns.

General Impression:
This is really enjoyable town to visit and explore. Traffic is nightmarish at times but it is good to hear that you are tackling this in your plan. There are a few areas where lot s of work remains. You’ve begun to tackle the wildlife category as suggested last year. Why not concentrate on waste minimisation for 2011-12? Thanks for all your work.

Second Round Adjudication:
I was very pleased to have been invited to give a second opinion on Malahide, which is doing so well in the competition. I find myself in accord with the first adjudicator. Malahide does particularly well on parks, suburban landscaping and the appearance of its housing areas – the latter including the older residential treats and the newer apartment and town-house areas. Not having been in Malahide for several years it was good to note that the Robwall locality – some of the homes taking their cue from the 19th century terraces of the town centre – is as neat and gracious as one might wish (though perhaps the town houses need variety of colour? – this could come later). When the trees grow up it will be very attractive indeed. In the long term the one-storey shops in the town centre inevitably have a look of impermanence and , should there be a major development here, would look much better if the buildings were increased to two or three storeys to match their surroundings – this comment is an aside and does not involve the marking. On the matter of your Development Plan for 2010 – 2014, this is well thought through and, unlike many Plans that we see, gives clear objectives year-by-year rather than simply a list of what needs to be done. Your candid mention of areas or sites that need addressing is admired. It is very good to read in your documentation that young people are involved. It is hoped that your admirable plans for off-centre parking will bear fruit. All good wishes for the hard work that goes into making Malahide such an attractive town.

Sarah Ann McGrath