Locals give facelift to Bandons Drab Street

THE drab streetscape of North Main Street in Bandon is to get a facelift, thanks to a Streetscape Paint Scheme Project, spearheaded by Bandon Tidy Towns Group. 

Fresh from their bronze medal win at this year’s National Tidy Towns competition, the hard working voluntary members of the group aren’t going to rest on their laurels. The group has liaised with Cork County Council’s Municipal District Area Office, County Architect’s Department and Heritage Unit in recent months regarding the project.

‘We have been working behind the scenes for months on the Streetscape Paint Scheme and have been trying to contact the owners of the buildings that are earmarked for painting,’ said Catherine Fitzmaurice, chairperson of Bandon Tidy Towns Group.

‘It has taken ages for us to establish who owns them and so far there are only two buildings that we can’t paint, as we were unable to find the owners. Four of the buildings are owned by banks or leasing institutions, and another four are owned by people not living in Bandon.’

The Bandon Tidy Towns Group has received a grant from Cork County Council towards the scheme and Dulux have agreed to sponsor the paint.

‘We’re starting this Saturday doing initial clearing work and we have the painter appointed and he will begin work a week later. There will, of course, be traffic management issues when the works commence, as there are hoists involved too.’

The derelict state of some buildings on North Main Street made the headlines last month when a local guesthouse owner, Mark Piper spoke to The Southern Star and said that tourists who came to stay with him were horrified to see the distressed look of some buildings on North Main Street.

The Bandon Tidy Towns group is still celebrating their first medal success at this week’s National Tidy Towns competition.

‘It’s our first medal and it’s a big boost to the whole team. We are always looking for people to join us and it’s not all about litter picking as such. We are always in need of gardeners, carpenters and those with other skills,’ added Catherine.

See ‘Bandon Tidy Towns Group’ on Facebook for more.