RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEES
We had a very interesting meeting with many people from around the town last Thursday evening. We are very grateful for the good turnout as there was very bad weather that evening.

There was discussion about what Tidy Towns means and about progress over the last year. Many commented that there was now a greater sense of hope, community spirit and pride in Longford. Everyone felt that there had been a major improvement to the appearance of the town and particularly praised the work by Tidy Towns at the roundabouts which now present such a good first impression to visitors. The achievement of winning the most improved town in the IBAL litter league was warmly welcomed by all. People were very pleased that numerous black-spots had been dealt with in 2003, many of which had been eyesores for years. Many commented that there is now much greater awareness of tidiness - the highly visible yellow jackets worn by volunteers had played a big part in this. There is also a lower tolerance by ordinary people on littering and the increased volume of litter fines being issued is helping tidiness.

Many ideas were put forward which will be very useful in planning our campaign for 2004 and future years. Groups mentioned the need for more support and guidance in such varied issues as landscaping, trees, how to dispose of material where a tidy up is carried out, how to get litter pick up units and generally how to go about arranging a tidy up. Other issues which were mentioned included the following: the absence of place name signs in many parts of the town; confusion as to whether to contact the County Council or the Town Council on issues; the need for a tree planting plan for the town; the need for further recycling facilities in the town (especially for plastic) and the need for more bins in some areas.

People representing different areas felt that it would be good to organise informal meetings for their areas only and we plan to respond to that.

Potential new volunteers are often shy or simply don't know how to get involved and it was felt that personal invitations might help to get more involved. People who got involved for the first time last year, commented on how welcome they were made feel when they joined. If you have an interest in the tidiness and appearance of Longford and its approach areas, we would like to emphasise that we are really keen to hear from you. Tidy Towns belongs to all the people of Longford Town and we would like to have more people involved.

If you are interested in getting involved, contact any tidy town volunteer or e-mail info@longfordtidytowns.com or phone 087 963 3868 or 086 820 5131. If you would simply like to find out more about us you will also be very welcome. If you want to get involved in any area group or the overall committee, that will be completely up to you. We look forward to hearing from you.

ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE
Volunteers wearing yellow "Keep Longford Tidy" jackets will carry out a tidy up immediately after the Parade to highlight the importance of keeping our town litter free. We ask for your support in keeping Longford tidy on the day - you can also help by challenging those who you see littering.

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