This article is from page 4 of the 2007-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
CCTV cameras are among new fre- sources Ennis Town Council will use as part of a major community driven environmental initiative.
The Ennis Environmental Chal- lenge will feature a range of waste prevention initiatives including the introduction of litter free zones, the employment of extra resources and the use of mobile CCTV cameras.
The first phase of the campaign involves the designation of Abbey Street, O’Connell Street, Parnell Street and High Street as a pilot area, within which litter free status will be Neel tol 0B
Other town centre locations will be designated as target litter free zones in the second phase. An independent verification and audit of the initiative is planned for August. The second phase will get underway in October with further review and assessment to take place in November.
Additional staff resources will be assigned to support the initial stages of the initiative which was launched at Waterpark House on Friday. Rep- resentatives from Shannon Develop- ment, Ennis Chamber of Commerce, local sports clubs and organisations, national and secondary school rep- resentatives, Ennis Tidy Towns Committee, An Garda Siochana, waste service providers, residents associations, local authority officials and elected members, tourism sector representatives and members of the
business community attended the event.
Other measures being introduced by Ennis Town Council include the operation of a revised cleaning schedule, the provision of colourful
floral displays and hanging baskets throughout the town, the hosting of an awareness campaign in national and secondary schools, and the pro- duction of a promotional/educational video on the Ennis Environmental
Challenge. Meanwhile, the council will use mobile closed circuit televi- sion in designated areas, housing es- tates and public areas as an enforce- ment measure to combat littering and indiscriminate dumping.
Eddie Power, Ennis Town Clerk, explained that the litter initiatives would be closely monitored through- out the challenge.
“A log or record including photo- graphic evidence of the condition of streets will be complied twice daily to monitor progress. An independent audit will also be conducted in the designated areas to verify progress and determine ‘litter free status’. ‘Litter Free Zone’ signs will then be erected following the successful completion of the verification proc- ess,” he said.
“Ennis Town Council will be launching measures aimed at further improving the existing community- wide and shared approach to com- bating litter in the town. For exam- ple, the local authority will organise cleaning days across the town’s hous- ing estates. Financial support will be provided through the council’s Prim- ing Grants Scheme for Residents As- sociations while an additional Bonus Grant will be presented to the Best Kept Estate. We will also be taking action on derelict sites and asking the owners of certain buildings and sites to carry out maintenance work where necessary,’ he said.