LITTER
A brief review of the town and approach areas shows the main streets and a large number of other areas being kept very well. HOWEVER there are still many littered areas not being tackled and these areas, if not dealt with, will bring down Longford's ratings in both IBAL and Tidy Town competitions. Some of the areas not being attended to, have been highlighted in official IBAL reports on Longford. Even more concerning is the fact that almost all of the litter problem areas have been problem areas for a number of years, with some of these areas having been highlighted by IBAL as far back as 2002.

Some of the areas with litter problems include; Park Road along greyhound-park; main public road from greyhound park out towards Slashers; Bog Lane (particularly that part visible from Dublin Street); tar dumped at Harbour Row; lane at rear and at side of Templemichael Terrace; lane around Library/ Teagasc including that part of the lane leading in direction of Cathedral out to St Mel's Road; Little Water Street; County Council car park (formerly Camlin Court hotel car park); certain parts of Great Water Street (with the derelict sites still being the main offenders); certain lanes around Anally Park; along fence/hedge at rear entrance to Mall; along inner bank of River Camlin just inside entrance to Mall spoiling an otherwise splendid amenity; Athlone approach road; Strokestown approach road; Connaught road; Sligo approach road; Athlone Road Industrial Estate; Townspark Industrial Estate; area around Willow Park; by-pass road (especially area between middle Roundabout and Sligo Road); AIBP car park; rear of one house at Connolly Terrace (an issue for over a year at this stage.

GRAFFITI
Graffiti is becoming more prominent in the town with no apparent action against any property owners, an issue which Tidy Towns has highlighted many times. Apart from the unsightly nature of graffiti, its presence motivates even more graffiti and presents a poor image of the town. Graffiti is regarded as litter in IBAL surveys and is also a litter offence under relevant litter legislation. Examples of graffiti can be found at Garveys Yard, lanes at rear of Anally Park, Market Square, Park road, Railway station car park, rear of Chapel Lane, lane at rear of Teffia Park and at the lane at the rear of Library/Teagasc. Litter legislation requires property owners to remove graffiti as often as it takes. Local residents must also play their part in challenging and reporting the behaviour of the offenders.

AN TAISCE
The "your area - town watch " section of the website www.antaisce.org contains a detailed commentary on Longford town and is well worth a visit.

NEW RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEES
Please contact us if you are interested in helping in your own area, even in a modest way. Your help can take many forms. For example, it might involve gardening, flowers, wildlife, weeding, forming an action group, arranging a bin or simply dealing with some issue that concerns you - anything which might make your area a more pleasant place to live. We are forming a sub committee to focus this year on providing support to new and existing residential groups who want to improve their own areas. Let us know how we can help.

HOW TO CONTACT US
E-mail info@longfordtidytowns.com
Phone 087 9633868 / 086 8205131