Tidy Towns funding for 29 Westmeath groups as competition returns

The return of the Supervalu Tidy Towns Competition will be a huge boost to communities across Westmeath, said Minister of State Peter Burke.

Minister Burke confirmed this morning (Monday) that 29 Tidy Towns groups in the county had been awarded grants of up to €1,000 under the Tidy Towns Fund announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.

The Westmeath Tidy Towns groups to be awarded funding are: Athlone Tidy Towns Committee; Ballinahown Development Association; Ballynacargy Tidy Towns; Castledaly Parish Development Association; Castlepollard Tidy Towns Group; Collinstown Tidy Towns Committee; Delvin Tidy Towns; Drumcree Tidy Towns; Kilbeggan Tidy Towns; Killucan Rathwire Tidy Towns; Loughnavalley Tidy Towns; Milltownpass Tidy Towns; Moate Tidy Towns; Mount Temple Tidy Towns; Moyvore Tidy Towns Committee; Mullingar Tidy Towns; Multyfarnham Tidy Towns; Raharney Tidy Towns; Rochfortbridge Tidy Towns Committee; Rosemount Tidy Villages Committee; Streamstown Tidy Village Association; Tang Tidy Village; Tubberclair Tidy Towns; Tyrrellspass Development Association; Clonmellon Tidy Towns Committee; Ballinalack Tidy Towns; Rathowen Tidy Towns; Ballinagore Tidy Towns Committee and Glasson Tidy Towns Committee.

"The return of the Supervalu Tidy Towns Competition will be a huge boost to communities across the county, many of whom locally I know have kept up the great work throughout the pandemic to keep their neighbourhoods clean, despite the cancellation of the competition due to Covid," said Minister of State Burke.

"From Glasson to Ballinahown, Tubberclair to Ballinagore, our communities are looking fantastic as the summer approaches and I am glad to see that these voluntary groups continue to receive modest government support."

Judging in this year's competition will take place remotely.

"The 2021 competition will take place in the same format as previous years, with the overall winners due to be announced before the end of the year. However special arrangements have been put in place to allow the competition to go ahead safely, with a specific emphasis on electronic entry and remote adjudication of each town’s entry," said Minister Burke.

"The health and safety of volunteers is a priority and groups should continue to adhere to public health guidelines as they have done so remarkably well since the onset of the pandemic.

"The organisers acknowledge that volunteers have not been able to deliver on all of the plans that they may have had for their towns, and the competition adjudicators will be mindful of this fact when assessing entries."

This year’s closing date for entries is Friday, July 2, and further details about the competition are available here.