Team effort and innovation prove winning strategy

BAT boxes and dog litter stations were just some of features Tidy Towns committees hoping to emulate Westport’s success might have to consider.

The adjudicators repeatedly praised the town’s innovative approach to improving its appearance, and were particularly impressed with the use of 3D graphics to enable proposed changes to the town to be viewed before they were carried out.

But the most potent secret weapon revealed by the judges was the policy of spreading the load. They noted the Tidy Towns committee had a strong membership of more than 100 volunteers — impressive for a town with a population of about 5,000 — but also that they involved many other local groups in the community.