Two Tipperary towns are included in the 40 towns surveyed by an Taisce on behalf of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.
Tipperary town was ranked 25th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed and awarded a rating of Moderately Littered.
A disappointing showing after a superb result earlier in 2021 when it had been rated as clean to European norms. Clonmel secured a ranking of 16th amongst the 40 locations and is rated as as Clean to European Norms.
Naas finished ahead of Portlaoise and Ennis to record its first win in the annual rankings.
There was a slight fall in the number of clean towns nationwide, to 22 and the presence of PPE, such as masks and gloves, was noted across the country.
Below is the full report for Tipperary town:
The top ranking sites in Tipperary town included the residential area of Canon Hayes Park, Lidl and Market Yard – the latter was particularly freshly presented and maintained.
The Main Street would have got the top grade but was let down by litter at various vacant premises.
There were heavy levels of litter along the N24 Clonmel Approach Road and Pearse Park.
The Miscellaneous Site at ‘Bank Place’ has been highlighted in many previous IBAL surveys – it remains a heavily littered site.
Pearse Park: Grade C+. (at the back of Father Matthew Terrace) .
There was a variety of food related items on the grasslands and the surrounding parking areas. Broken signage presented poorly, i.e.; whatever signage / notice was there has been completely worn away.
There were no visible litter bins or litter awareness notices – perhaps the installation of same might help here? Canon Hayes Park: Grade A.
The signage at this residential area was excellent, creating a positive first impression and this was sustained throughout.
Colourful flower boxes and planting were in good order. The area was spotless .
Cashel Approach Road: Grade B. Lovely ‘Welcome to Tipperary’ feature with abundant flowering and brick work.
There was a mix of food related items along the grass verges, just before the graveyard.
Freshly cut grass verges had resulted in ‘chopped up litter’. This took away from an otherwise freshly presented route with road surface and markings in good order.
N24 Clonmel Approach Road: Grade C. This road was characterised by heavy levels of food relate d litter and lower levels of alcohol cans. It was particularly noticeable at the ‘Welcome to Tipperary’ signage and the improvised / rece ssed parking area.
Some of it appeared ‘long – lie’, indicating a lack of thorough cleaning for quite some time. Market Yard: Grade A. Not only was this area very good with regard to litter but the overall presentation of same was excellent e.g., paving, visitor information on signage with colourful flower box beneath, fresh and slick looking bollards and planter boxes, historical information, raised flower bed etc – all aspects of this area were in excellent order.
Lidl: Grade A. A very freshly presented environment, with a virtual absence of litter throughout. Area was enhanced by attractive paving, tree planting , wooden seating and surrounding shrubbery.
Main Street: Grade B+. Much of the Main Street was fine regarding litter but the overall grade was brought down by some litter at the various vacant sites.
This took away from an otherwise litter free impression along the pavements, kerbs and road surface. Limerick Road Approach: Grade A.
A very clean and tidy impression was created along this route with road surface, markings and signage in good order. Grass verges were well attended. Bank Place Car Park: Grade B.
The main litter items were food related, along with notable levels of face masks. The litter was both within the car parking ar eas and at the base of the hedges. Miscellaneous site at Bank Place: Grade C.
This site has been featured over many years of IBAL surveys and there has been no notable improvement.
While loose litter levels might not be as high as previous surveys, other, larger items have landed in the basement e.g., bicycle and other debris. Where does responsibility for this site lie?
