Makeover of towns inspiring

TIME was leading tourist towns like Westport, Co Mayo, and Killarney, Co Kerry, were criticised for not being attractive in themselves, despite their exquisite surrounds.

However, they and many other urban areas have been transformed, thanks largely to the efforts of local people.

Plastic signage has been largely banished, trees and flowers have been planted and traditional shopfronts restored. Unsurprisingly, both the Mayo and Kerry towns have won the Tidy Towns award and are thriving tourist centres. Now, the buzzword is “greentown’’.

Simon Wall, town architect in Westport, outlined the striking contrast between what it looked like around 1990 and its splendour today all due to a rejuvenation project started less than 20 years. The Westport 2000 Integrated Action Plan was drawn up to mark the millennium and included a united approach by all public and private interests in which everyone was consulted.

Mr Wall told a recent best tourism towns conference, in Tralee, Co Kerry, that one of the first steps was to replace dozens of ugly signs. A free colour service was offered property owners, they also gave the streetscape a makeover, replaced PVC windows with timber sash, as well as under-grounding wires and putting in street furniture.

Old buildings were converted to new uses and derelict sites were tastefully redeveloped in the town’s core. They also encouraged people to ‘live over the shop’ once again, thus bringing residents back into the commercial heart of Westport.

“The fact that we had a plan in place before the Celtic Tiger meant that the boom was a positive experience for Westport as we were ready to make the most of it and were spared some of the ugly developments that have blighted other towns,’’ Mr Wall said.

Pedestrian paths and greenways were provided and 80% of residential areas of Westport are now connected to the Great Western Way. The idea is to cut short car journeys as much as possible and to encourage cycling. Every effort has been made to confine car parking to the edges of the town and to limit motorised traffic in the town.

From the outset, Mr Wall recalled, they drew from the example of former Cork county architect Billy Houlihan, especially through his work in Kinsale and Clonakilty.

By the way, we’ve had a lot of reaction to last week’s column on getting children more involved in outdoor activities. Tom Lynch, a retired national teacher in Ennis, Co Clare, says the Department of Education is far more concerned with standardised test results, assessment of learning and endless paper trails than with the promotion of outdoor education.