Much of our work this year has been re-establishing contact with residential groups.
As things change and people change, contact information is often mislaid. During covid, many groups that would be natural alleys of TidyTowns ceased to function. Community groups went into hiatus as contact between houses was limited. Often one lone resident continued the work. Post covid we are finding ways to reconnect with communities. We have begun by engaging with our own members and finding out what they would like from Clonmel Tidy Towns as a group. This has so far resulted in a Spring Clean morning in Elm Park and a badly needed sweep of the BasketBall Court.
We hit Slievenamon Road to assist another member of the group do a Spring Clean of his neighbourhood.
We have had some positive responses and we hope to continue to find ways to engage with communities. We will continue to reach out to neighbourhoods through our members and through the #togetherclonmel photographic project which will reintroduce us to some communities, and create new connections with others.
Our work to encourage the council to consider different aspects of planning notices continues. The naming of the estates is one such aspect. We have many areas in Clonmel such as Oakville, where there are no oak trees, or Beechwood Drive, where neither beech trees nor wood exist. Some progress has been made with the planning department now forwarding all applications to the environment department to look over proposed planting schemes and to make recommendations if the planting scheme is unsuitable.
