Kilkenny scrubs up nicely and climbs into ‘Top 10’ premier league of Ireland’s cleanest towns
KILKENNY has cleaned up its act yet again – so much so that the city has climbed back into the ‘top 10’ premier league of Ireland’s cleanest towns.
The Marble City finished ninth in a survey of more than 40 towns in the rankings – up seven places from the last Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey last October.
The latest anti-litter report noted it was “another excellent result for Kilkenny”, with 80% of local sites graded in the survey achieving top marks.
It singled out the Market Cross Shopping Centre, which is described as a “particularly well presented and clean site”.
The survey also had words of praise for Kilkenny Train Station (“a very well attended site”), the “excellent” condition of High Street and the “pristine” grounds of Kilkenny Castle.
Kilkenny County Council welcomed the findings of the latest IBAL litter survey.
The Municipal Mayor of Kilkenny, Cllr Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere, said the positive result is “testament to the combined efforts of Kilkenny County Council, Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, residents associations, local businesses, property owners and local residents that Kilkenny City continues to perform so well in terms of the presentation of our city.”
He added: “I want to thank and to recognise all who have contributed to this success. I urge owners of properties that detract from the general appearance of the city to take action and to respect and recognise the huge effort, both voluntary and non-voluntary, that is required in continuing to exhibit our city to the high standards it has achieved over the years. The presentation of Kilkenny City is a crucial foundation to its continuing success.”
Elsewhere in the survey, Fermoy in Co Cork was named the cleanest town in Ireland, with neighbouring Waterford taking the honour as the country’s cleanest city for 2018.
Irish Business Against Litter said just under 90% of towns were deemed clean last year, with Athlone and Killarney finishing behind Fermoy.