Is Athlone a litter blackspot or not?

Athlone improved its standing in the All Ireland Tidy Towns competition this year, increasing its overall score in the contest by seven points when compared with 2008. And across South Westmeath and South Roscommon, all 19 entrants upped their points from 2008 in a remarkable display of improvement The report on the town, which was published on Monday, painted a very different picture to the one conveyed by last June's Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey. The IBAL report declared Athlone the dirtiest town in Ireland, but the Tidy Towns assessment stated "the level of litter control around the town is excellent - well done!" Overall, Athlone received a Tidy Towns score of 238 points out of a possible 400. This was an improvement on 2008, when it scored 231 points, and 2007, when it received 227 points. The best-performing area in Westmeath this year was Ballinahown, which received 290 points and was described by adjudicators as "a magic location of colour and commitment, of local pride striving for perfection." Nationally, Ballinahown won a bronze medal in its population category. Glasson was the second best performer in the county, receiving 273 points. The village "creates a wonderful impression and its roses theme is particularly strong," adjudicators felt. Moate received a score of 225 points. Its report stated that, with a long-term development plan, there was "no reason why (Moate) could not progress into the top tier of towns in the Tidy Towns contest." In Roscommon, Keadue scored highest (298 points), while among the special prize winners was Lecarrow, which picked up the €1,000 Notice Nature Biodiversity Award. Athlone's report was welcomed this week by the chairman of its Tidy Towns committee, John Butler. "There was a genuine effort made in Athlone this year by the tidy towns committee and a lot of people were on board. I think this report shows that the ship is going in the right direction and I have to compliment everyone who made any effort to help out," he said. When asked about the contrast between the Tidy Towns report and the IBAL survey in June, Mr Butler said: "There's a major difference between the two. IBAL hides behind reports from faceless people in An Taisce. (IBAL chief) Dr Tom Cavanagh was very apologetic towards the tidy towns committee after that last report. He told us that it's not us they're going after, it's the council. But it's savage when they come along a label a town the dirtiest in Ireland. The Tidy Towns report is a lot more professional and I think their report is a very fair analysis of what they found." Mr Butler said that the report included "no surprises or no negative comment that I wouldn't agree with." He said his only minor disappointment was that, under some headings, the marks awarded were not as generous as they might have been given the amount of praise contained in the report. He noted that there was serious graffiti vandalism at The Strand in late July but that the Tidy Towns committee took swift action to remove it and that as a result there was no mention of graffiti in the Tidy Towns report. However, he urged people to be vigilant and report any instances of graffiti to the Gardai. Mr Butler commended the three tidy towns workers, its volunteers, and the Town Council for their support. He plans to examine the report in detail and put together a plan for further improvements in the years to come. "A small bit of good housekeeping can bring us way up the line. If we look at individual streets and develop a standard that we keep to over a number of years then we'll be well over the mark," he stated.