A new Green Town 2000 competition, to promote environmental sustainability at local level, has emerged from a review of the Tidy Towns competition.
With £150,000 funding from the National Millennium Committee, the competition will give Tidy Towns committees an opportunity to mark the millennium through a range of projects, including restoration of old buildings, development of millennium parks, new uses for derelict sites, initiatives to combat litter, planting programmes, recycling projects and energy conservation measures.
The Tidy Towns review was initiated by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, in the context of the millennium. It involved many activists in the local Tidy Towns committees.
Mr Dempsey said yesterday many interesting and innovative ideas had emerged from the review process, and later this year he would announce "exciting and challenging" new proposals for the competition.
One idea which had evolved from the review was the Green Town 2000 competition. The deadline for submission of entries would be November 1st.
The aim of Green Town 2000 was twofold: to facilitate and assist Tidy Towns committees in their desire to mark the millennium and to accelerate further the "greening" of Ireland's towns and villages.
The Minister said this "flagship awards scheme" was intended to put the emphasis on committees coming up with their own ideas, based on broad environmental parameters outlined for the Green Town scheme.
The overall winner of Ireland's Green Town 2000 award will receive £20,000, and regional winners will get £10,000 each. There will be a further £60,000 fund for smaller awards.
Projects may be submitted only by Tidy Towns committees and must be substantially complete by August 31st, 2000. The awards will be presented in November 2000.
