The work to maintain Gold standard in Athlone begins now!

The work to maintain the gold medal won by Athlone in this year's National Tidy Towns Competitions "begins now" according to local Fianna Fáil Cllr, Aengus O'Rourke.

Hailing the gold medal as "a massive achievement" for a big town like Athlone, Cllr O'Rourke issued a rallying call to everyone in the town to "give a little of your time, either in your own area or with the Tidy Towns volunteers" in an effort to maintain the exemplary standard set by the town in this year's competition.

"People need to realise that hitting this standard is very very difficult. It involves a lot of planning and developing strategies around biodiversity, regeneration, sustainability, planting, litter control, wildlife preservation, school liaison, business liaison, town presentation and more.. So, people should realise that our Tidy Towns is much more than a litter picking organisation, more accurately it is a dynamic, strategic town enhancement organisation" said Cllr O'Rourke.

He congratulated everyone involved in achieving the gold medal result, from the " amazing Athlone Tidy Towns volunteers who carry out a huge amount of work, week in - week out, all year round" to the outdoor staff of the Council "who take care of a lot of the heavy lifting" to the Business Champions, the residential estates and everyone who played their part by way of our community clean-ups or locally organised events.

"While this is a huge achievement for Athlone and the Tidy Towns volunteers, and due recognition for all our hard work in recent years which is very welcome, the work to maintain Gold Standard begins now" said Cllr O'Rourke.

"For us to hold this standard, and to build on it will take a lot of planning and work. It is going to take everyone to play their part - I am calling on everyone to give a little of your time, either in your own area or with the Tidy Towns volunteers, please do what you can" he concluded.