DroghedaTidyTowns

We are a community group who work in tandem with Louth County Council to improve quality of life in the heritage town of Drogheda. #LoveDrogheda

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Get Nominating - It’s Beauty on the Boyne Time!

Don’t forget that the closing date for Beauty on the Boyne nominations is this Friday 22nd July. The form takes less than 1 minute to complete and it’s your chance to nominate houses, estates, streets, businesses and others who make our town look beautiful. There’s prize money and trophies to be won and entering is free. Don’t delay - get your nominations in today!!

Download your form now by clicking here. 

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NEW INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE SHOP FRONTS IN LOUTH

Drogheda TidyTowns have welcomed the announcement of a programme of grants for local retailers and business owners to improve their shopfronts. 

The new “Shop Front Improvement Grant” is available to local business owners to encourage them to restore traditional shop fronts, move security shutters inside their buildings and other measures to make sure the town looks lovely. The Grant scheme is accompanied by a new set of “Shop Front Guidelines” to help promote a co-ordinated and traditional appearance in town centres.

Chairperson of the Planning and Environmental Strategic Policy Committee, Cllr. Richie Culhane announced the grants “Within our Strategic Policy Committee we knew that it was important to both give guidance and incentive to local business owners to improve the appearance of town centre buildings. We have worked in tandem with Council officials to develop and deliver these the guidelines and grant scheme. The criteria to qualify for a grant are quite straightforward. We believe that this initiative will go a long way to encouraging local business people to upgrade their shop fronts.”

Mary T. Daly of Louth County Council explained “We were delighted to work with Drogheda TidyTowns on this initiative. We recognise the work they do to improve the appearance of the town. Drogheda competes in the annual competition and has achieved 8 consecutive gold medals, a huge achievement for a large urban town.  Louth Co. Co. are delighted that this initiative will help enhance shopfronts in the town and alongside the new Retail Incentive Schemes will assist existing retailers and attract new businesses to Drogheda town centre.  

Welcoming the introduction of the guidelines and grants President of Drogheda and District Chamber of Commerce and TidyTowns Committee member Eddie Phelan explains “The last 10 years have been a tough time for local business, in particular small retailers. The guidelines for refurbishment of shop fronts are a big step forward. They, in tandem with the grants, provide an incentive for business owners to restore traditional shopfronts, signage and paint colours and move shutters to inside their premises. There is even an incentive to paint a parade of shopfronts. The grant fund is limited and is shared across the county so we will be informing all Chamber members and local retailers about this incentive and encouraging them to apply without delay.”

Details of the scheme are available on the Louth County Council website and you can request the guidelines and grant application form by emailing: [email protected]

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Drogheda TidyTowns supports #CloseTheGate

The team at Drogheda TidyTowns are passionate about protecting and enhancing the natural and built environment of our heritage town. We support the campaign to #CloseTheGate.

Members of our committee are working with Louth County Council to take steps to #CloseTheGate. Others, with appropriate technical skills, have made suggestions to Louth County Council about how the traffic flows could be managed, both in the short and long term. Other members of our committee have made individual representations to Louth County Councillors asking them to vote in favour of the closure.

We understand that this is a complex issue but we also believe that our heritage must be protected, without delay. We believe that Louth County Council, working in conjunction with the community, will find a way in which to #CloseTheGate and protect St. Laurence Gate. We commend the work of the #CloseTheGate team and recognise the power of passionate, committed and dedicated locals in driving change. #LoveDrogheda

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CIVIC SPIRIT IN SPADES

Huge “congratulations and thank you” to Dusty Flanagan and Terry Collins on another stunningly successful Boyne Valley Walking Festival. This dynamic duo, together with a small group of helpers, plan and manage a beautiful week of walks right across the Valley.

There is a special emphasis around the heritage sites of Drogheda, with Oldbridge and Listoke House having been focal points this year.

Their passion for Drogheda and The Boyne Valley and their absolute love of walking combine to create a fantastic weekend that bring people to Drogheda from far and wide.  They invest months of route planning, insurance and paperwork, safety statements, negotiation with landowners and preparation of pathways. They market the festival with little or no budget and reach out to people all over the country, inviting them to visit us in Drogheda. And they do all of this on a voluntary basis.

The festival is going from strength to strength each year. If you’ve never been, pop it in your diary for next year. If you have friends and relations around the country who love to walk then invite them to join you next year. I can promise you one thing … you won’t be disappointed!

To find out more, “Like” the Boyne Valley Walking Festival on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoyneValleyWalking/

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A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU!

The Joe Stanley 1916 Garden was officially launched back in April. It’s been a joy to see so many people strolling through the garden each day, enjoying the views and taking the time to reflect.

But there’s one very special person who helps to make the Garden even more enjoyable for everyone else. Yet, we don’t actually know who that person is.

Some evenings as I take down the flag I’ll notice that there’s bits and pieces of litter let on the grass. It might be a couple of beer cans or sweet wrappers or perhaps a plastic bag. When I return early the following morning, armed with my rubbish bag to collect them, and ready to put up the flag they are GONE. Some beautiful civic-spirited person, out in the early morning, seems to whisk them away, leaving the Garden perfect again and ready for others to enjoy.

We don’t know who this person is ... but we do want to say THANK YOU. Thank you so very much for your kindness ... it is very much appreciated!

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Busy Times

It’s been a busy time here at Drogheda TidyTowns ... we launched our new Joe Stanley 1916 Garden back in April and we’ve been flying the flag for Drogheda every day since.

We submitted our mammoth TidyTowns application for 2016 - it’s always amazing to look back at what has been achieved over the course of a year. We’ve had Drogheda’s Big Spring Clean and Residents Groups all over town have done the same. 

We’re getting ready to launch new shopfront improvement grant scheme in conjunction with Louth County Council and Drogheda & District Chamber.

We’re applying for funding for new projects that we want to take on. We’d love to create an urban garden on St. Dominic’s Bridge. And an outdoor classroom alongside the Boyneside Trail. We’re looking for rooftops for beehives in the town centre to help increase the bee population, which is good for our local environment and all of us. We’re also busy helping with the Volunteer Programme for the Irish Maritime Festival.   

Our other big aim is to get a network of TidyTowns sub-groups set up around the town over the course of the year. Local people know best what is needed in their local area and by forming local sub-groups, local communities can work together (with our support) to help make the improvements they want in their own neighbourhoods.

This is just a taste of what we’ve got going on ... if you’d like to get involved talk to us ... you’ll find our contact details on our webpage www.drogheda.ie/TidyTowns

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Celebrating the 1916 Centenary with the launch of the new Joe Stanley 1916 Garden in Drogheda!