Drogheda takes European silver in Entente Florale
Drogheda has been honoured in Slovenia with a silver award in a European competition established in 1975 to promote quality of life in urban and village communities.
The Co Louth town had been selected by the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government to represent Ireland in the town category at Entente Florale 2011. The honour comes after the town won a gold medal in the national TidyTowns competition for a fourth consecutive year.
Eleven jury members from the Europe-wide awards programme visited the town in late July to conduct an assessment under 10 categories.
In their appraisal, the judges “highly praised and commended” the educational ethos of the recycling team in Louth Local Authorities. The restoration and new use of historic buildings was also praised with Highlanes Gallery singled out for particular mention. Landscaping in the town was also praised by the jurors who also noted that the town has many spacious areas for recreation and leisure. Harmony Heights won particular praise for its colour and community activity.
The Entente Florale jury highly praised the floral display on the bridge, saying it “offers an inviting spectacle” while also praising the quality and maintenance of the flowers. All of the jury members also strongly praised the work being done with local schools by the Drogheda TidyTowns committee, saying students showed a “high degree of environmental awareness”.
In addition, the jury praised the way that various sections of the community in Drogheda had partnered to improve the town’s environment. The tourist information office at the Tholsel was also much admired as was the work being done to connect Drogheda more comprehensively with the Boyne Valley and Newgrange.
Accepting the award on behalf of the people of Drogheda, Cllr Kevin Callan, Mayor of Drogheda, said: “It’s a huge team effort that delivers this type of silver medal success at European level and that augurs well for ongoing and future projects that are bringing together everyone with a stake in the town’s future. Following on from our TidyTowns gold medal and the recent positive job creation announcement from Coca-Cola, this is a good news day for Drogheda that we should all enjoy. We should also all play our part in ensuring future success by being aware of the positive contribution we can make.”
Marie Eagleton, Chair, Drogheda TidyTowns, added: “We’re obviously delighted with this recognition for the hard work so many people put in to help present Drogheda in the best light. The judging process itself has also given us some very valuable feedback that we can also take on board for 2012. How towns like Drogheda manage their environment and showcase their streets and buildings is hugely important not only for our quality of life but also in economic terms as well presented towns are more attractive to visitors, shoppers and investors.”
Joan Martin, Drogheda Town Clerk and Director of Services, Louth Local Authorities, said: “The silver award in Entente Florale was hard won by a great team of volunteers working with Drogheda Borough Council and other partner agencies to showcase our town to the visiting judges. We are very fortunate in Drogheda to have civic-minded people like the TidyTowns committee to drive forward this agenda. They are rarely acknowledged or recognised for their Trojan efforts but the Entente Florale success goes at least some way to addressing that.”
Locations in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK were also honoured at the awards ceremony in Slovenia while Coolagown, Co Cork was the other Irish location honoured with the village receiving a gold award.
Ends – September 19, 2011.
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