Shannon has become ‘tatty’ – Flynn

Litter, vandalised trees and general untidiness were the black marks that undermined Shannon’s Tidy Towns initiative this year.
Rubbing salt into the wounds is the fact that Shannon shares with Kilkee the ignominy of being the only two centres in Clare to have marks deducted from their 2009 performances.
But Shannon’s result hasn’t taken Councillor Gerry Flynn by surprise. “It is no more or no less than what I expected because the town has got very tatty in the last year or so,” he remarked.
Councillor Flynn, a former chairman of the local Tidy Towns Committee, said the comments from the adjudicators should serve as a wake up call for the community to get its act together.
“There has been a lot of slippage in the general appearance of Shannon and we see that in the results. Civic pride seems to have taken a back seat but it underlines the need for us all to work that bit harder so that Shannon gains rather than loses marks,” he said.
He emphasised, however, that Shannon’s poor showing was not a reflection of the committee members who volunteer their time in trying to improve the general appearance of the town.
“Those volunteers show tremendous civic pride and are doing their best to enhance Shannon. They are extremely hard working but they are up against it because the town council and county council are strapped for cash and the resources aren’t there to clean up areas in a fast manner.
“I’m speaking from experience because when you bring a motion before the council and it’s adopted, it could take six months before it’s acted upon,” he explained.
Councillor Flynn added that the comments from the adjudicators should serve as a baseline going forward.
“There’s food for thought in this and I just hope it serves as a wake up call for Clare County Council, Shannon Development and the community at large. There’s a lot we can learn from this report and it needs to be taken on board if we are to make progress,” he said.
The adjudicators noted that the level of litter, vandalised trees and general untidiness distracted too much from the otherwise well-built and enterprising nature of the town but stressed that these problems were “very solvable”.
Shannon achieved a total of 272 marks, down one from last year, and the adjudicator’s assessment was critical of the “tatty and littered” entrance to the library; that the car park around the new chapel was “littered with broken glass and cigarette ends”; the town square was “slightly littered” and “the back gardens to be in poor condition”.
There was also criticism for Shannon Development in that the area in front of the development company was described as “very untidy” and that “tatty hoardings, random poles in the ground and abandoned shopping trolleys” were noted on the day of inspection.
There was positive feedback on the development of wildlife and natural amenities and the Shannon local wetland project.
However, the report suggested that the committee should aim to produce a wildlife action plan to firstly survey and map the wildlife resources of the town and subsequently to develop actions to enhance these habitats.
“The wetlands project was visited but unfortunately there was a lot of littering and dumping while pathways were overgrown with briars,” the report added.