The Irish Business Against Litter(IBAL) judges assessed 10 areas in Tipperary Town and awarded a total of 6 A’s, a B for Gas House Lane and Kickham Place as both were littered as was Abbey Street car park which was graded C+ for litter that had been present for a long time while Bank Place earns a C Grade. The area was described as “having litter, significant weed growth and no noticeable improvement” since it was first judged by IBAL.
“A” Grades were awarded to the Approach roads from Limerick, Galbally and Cashel, Main Street, Abbey Road and Dillon Street.
The judges praised the presence of flowers, improved paving, trees, little litter and residents out sweeping during the judge’s visit.
Tipperary town is ranked clean to European Norms and ranked 23rd of 40 towns judged by IBAL in late 2022. Tipperary is the only town in the county included in the current survey which sees Naas ranked as the cleanest town.
Full Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) report for Tipperary town
It is great to see Tipperary town retain clean status after a period in the doldrums. The three
approach routes were top ranking, creating a positive first impression of the town. Other top-
ranking sites included the Main Street, SuperValu (Abbey Road) and the residential area at
Dillon Street. There appeared to be more colourful flower boxes / planting than previous years
e.g., Main Street, N24 Approach and Kickham Place – they are a welcome addition to the town.
Two sites brought down the overall grade significantly: ‘Bank Place’ site continues to present
very poorly with no notable change over a long number of years. Abbey Street Car Park
suffered from very heavy levels of a wide variety of food and alcohol related litter.
SuperValu – Abbey Road: Grade A.
A freshly presented environment with very minimal litter items throughout. All aspects of the area surveyed were in very good order.
Main Street: Grade A.
Clearly a careful eye is kept on the vacant / closed down premises as there was no litter directly associated with them. Colourful flower boxes / hanging baskets are a lovely feature. There were plenty of street bins and they were in good order. The overall impression with regard to litter was a good one.
Dillon Street: Grade A.
This residential area was very much deserving of the top litter grade. Low-lying planting added some lovely colour and tree planting looked well. New paving created a very fresh impression. House-proud resident was sweeping up outside their house. Street signage on both the red brick house and grey house was virtually illegible – the white font was worn away.
N24 from Davitt Street to Bohercrow Roundabout – Limerick Exit: Grade A.
A freshly presented approach route with road surface / markings / signage in good order. Area was enhanced by large colourful flower planters.
R664 Approach, Galbally Road: Grade A.
A welcoming and well attended route, creating a positive first impression of Tipperary. Freshly cut grasslands and marble seating looked very well.
N74 Cashel Road Approach: Grade A.
As with the other two approach routes into Tipperary, this was very much deserving of the top litter grade. All aspects of the area surveyed were in good order.
Gas House Lane: Grade B.
This site could quickly deteriorate to a more littered state. Background environmental indicators were poor e.g., graffiti, heavily weeded, poor overall presentation. There was a definite litter presence and discarding of black sack.
Kickham Place: Grade B.
The streetscape was good with attractive paving, lovely planter boxes with wooden seating attached, litter bins, silver bollards, colourful visitor information signage etc. but the area was let down by a very obvious food related litter presence – plastic bottles, mineral cans and sweet papers. Much of the litter was in the basements of various premises, but not exclusively.
Abbey Street Car Park: Grade C+.
Heavy levels of a wide variety of litter items lined the wall of the car park. The surrounding hedges / perimeters harboured ‘long-lie’ items, indicating a lack of thorough cleaning for quite some time. Much of the litter was food related but there were also alcohol cans / bottles, along with a plastic bag of rubbish in a corner location. This site will only deteriorate further if not addressed.
Vacant site at Bank Place: Grade C.
This vacant site continues to create a very poor impression. It was characterised by heavy levels of wide variety of food and alcohol related litter, along with other miscellaneous items. Weed growth was significant. There has been no notable change since first included in IBAL survey.
