Cork’s historic Mardyke is to be home to an iconic new amenity and tourism attraction.

“The Mardyke Gardens” will include the gold medal winning garden at Chelsea Flower Show designed by Diarmuid Gavin, a restored historic Fountain and Pond dating from the Cork Exhibition of 1902, a Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Garden and a refurbished military bandstand and public performance space.

The project is part of a major new programme to develop a world class horticultural tourist trail linking the Mardyke Gardens with gardens at University College Cork, Bishop Lucey Park, Fota Arboretum and Gardens, Blarney Castle Gardens and a number of private gardens. The Mardyke Gardens will integrate with existing recreational amenities such as riverside and other walkways within the city which have been created to allow visitors and Corkonians alike to view the city and to easily access garden, cultural and other attractions.

This will be an outstanding new amenity and tourism product for Cork and is part of a broader strategy to attract more visitors to the city and to encourage them to stay longer. The project will help to sustain and increase employment in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Cork has certainly received a” bounce” from the visit of Queen Elizabeth with enquires and visitor numbers from the U.K significantly increased. We want to build on that momentum and incrementally roll out more top quality attractions which will help to sell the city in international tourism markets.

The decision was announced at a meeting of Cork City Council held last night  by City Manager, Tim Lucey. There will be no immediate change to existing collection methods and existing waivers will be honoured until April 15th 2013.

The City Manager told us that the Council’s waste collection service was facing a loss of €2.5 million this year and a loss of almost €5 million was projected for 2012. This would arise from the continuing erosion of the Council’s customer base in the face of intensive price competition from private operators and from the obligations to meet onerous new operational and capital costs associated with the implementation of new National and EU policy directives.

In order to stem the increase in losses in 2011 and to try to stay within the budgeted loss of €1.8 million, adopted by the Council in 2010, it would be necessary to levy a charge of €75 for Old Age Pensioners and to increase the price per tag from €6 to €8 for a 240 litre bin and €3 to €5 for the 140 litre bin. This would potentially make the Council’s service even less competitive.

Most private operators collect on a national basis and have access to a much larger customer base, unlike Cork City Council which is limited to city collection. This allows private collectors the economies of scale and competitive advantage which the Council can never enjoy. Also, larger private operators own and operate the vast infrastructure now necessary for the collection, transfer, re-cycling, treatment and disposal of waste, the use of which must be paid for by the City Council

As a result of increased competition from private operators, Cork City Council’s domestic and non-domestic customer numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. Non-domestic customer numbers stand at 700 while domestic customers have declined from 40,000 to 25,000 since 2006. Half of the Council’s domestic customers are on full or partial waivers. Cork City Council operates a very generous waiver system and in doing so foregoes €4.1 milion per annum in income.

Cork City Council has always operated a very generous waiver system from its own resources. We have made it a condition of the transfer of the service to Country Clean Recycling that existing waiver arrangements will be honoured by that company until April 15th 2013.

No compulsory redundancies will occur in the course of this transfer.

As of today, there are only four remaining local authorities in this country who continue in the refuse collection business. It is timely now for a National Waiver Scheme to be examined.

An Information Line Freefone No. 1800 283 034 will operate from 10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday, until Friday July 8th, to answer customer queries. Information sheets will be distributed to all customers by Cork City Council and the new service provider will issue full information packs in the coming weeks to all existing Cork City Council Customers.

Download the full Manager’s report here.

All Christmas trees that are collected will be composted at the Kinsale Road Landfill Site.

Christmas trees may be deposited free of charge at any of the sites listed below from Tuesday, 4th January, 2011 to Monday, 31st January 2011.

At our City Council meeting this week, we received the following report from the City Manager on the Council’s response during the severe weather we experienced over the last number of weeks:

“A Ard-Méara agus Comhairleoirí,

At Council meeting on 20th December 2010, I updated Members on the City Council’s response to the ongoing severe weather at that time. That report focused primarily on the response to the isues that arose for traffic and mobility within the City. From that date to the 25th/26th December, the Council continued its high level response to gritting and salting, committing up to 17 crews to this task daily.

While there was a considerable easing of weather conditions from early morning on the 26th December 2010, the prolonged severe weather had a significant impact on water supplies across the City, a situation which was replicated across the country. In view of the disruption that this caused to the residents and businesses of the city, I wish to brief Council on the challenges faced and the management of the situation by the Council.

In briefing Members, it is important that the difficulties experienced by all water users are put in context. They arose from an unprecedented prolonged spell of severe weather conditions. The City Council, therefore had limited control in preventing the range of water disruptions experienced. It is also critically important to understand that the disruptions experienced were due to a multiplicity of factors impacting on individual households and businesses. The City Council’s responsibility in this regard is to ensure the continuous production of quality water and its distribution throughout the water network. Its remit does not extend to resolving matters within individual premises.

Since the severe weather commenced on the 27th November 2010, the Council’s Crisis Management Team has convened daily, including weekends, and throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period, the one exception being Christmas Day. This approach and structure ensured that the Council’s response was co-ordinated across all Directorates of the Council and was focused on the priority issues to be managed. It also ensured integration with the other response agencies such as the HSE, An Garda Siochana, and the Defence Forces. As Chair of the Crisis Management Team and City Manager, I ensured that the Lord Mayor was briefed at all times on issues emerging and our response.

Water Services

Leak Detection and Repair pre-Christmas

The reduction in temperatures from the 26th December, 2010 resulted in the majority of water services difficulties emerging at that time. The Council’s Water Services Directorate, had however been responding to water mains challenges from the commencement of the severe weather period. From early December, Water Department crews worked to ensure that all leaks arising on the public mains were repaired in advance of the Christmas holidays. Over 53 leaks were repaired in the period 1st December to 25th December. In addition the Council increased the volume of treated water in storage to record levels, in advance of the Christmas period. This proactive management and actions helped reduce both the potential impact and the recovery period.

All staff within the Water Department were on duty/call over the holiday period and any necessary assistance supplied from other Council Departments. The Council also engaged the services of outside contractors where necessary, particularly for the detection of leaks and supply of equipment. Staff generally worked long hours throughout the month of December and the Christmas/New Year period.

Demand and Restrictions

Having taken the advance actions outlined above, the Council was able to maintain supplies in the water network throughout the holiday period. However, from the 26th December, these supplies were insufficient to match the demand arising (due to leaks on public and private networks), and this necessitated the introduction of supply restrictions. Demand increased by over 50% over normal levels. While restrictions initially applied in 16 of the Councils 50 district meter areas, the affected area had been reduced by half by Friday 31st December. With good progress being made in repairing leaks, by both the Council and members of the public, the affected area was again reduced on Tuesday 4th January and all restrictions lifted by Wednesday 5th January.

Night restrictions were imposed in areas with higher water losses and insufficient spare capacity to cover the abnormal demand arising. The City water supply comes from two primary sources, they being the Inniscarra and the Lee Road Water Treatment Plants. Additional supplies were available from the Inniscarra Water Supply Scheme to cover the excess demand in areas that it services, they being the Southeast and Southwest of the City. The areas served by the Lee Road Scheme, which is primarily the Northside of the City, are more vulnerable to restriction. While this plant operated at maximum production capacity for the period of the severe weather, it cannot meet a demand level which is running at in excess of 50% greater than normal due to loss of water through both the public mains and private installations. The Council also experienced difficulties in maintaining satisfactory pressures in parts of the City Centre for a short period.

Alternative Supplies

Standpipes were operated over the period 27th December to 2nd/3rd January as an additional service in the areas worst affected by restrictions. Standpipes were not erected in advance of this date due to the general availability of water in each district, and the high risk of accidents and injury associated with wet frozen surfaces that could emerge from standpipes A total of five standpipes were operated (usually from 10.00am to 8.00pm.) Demand for supplies from standpipes was generally much less than experienced in previous disruptions.

Contact was maintained between the HSE, Garda Siochana and City Council Housing Department so as to ensure contingency arrangements for vulnerable residents and for health facilities. We ensured a response to any critical cases through our Civil Defence Unit and Fire and Emergency Service along with the support of Community Gardai. Alternative water supplies were also brought as necessary to a number of hotels experiencing difficulties in this period, by our Fire and Emergency Service, to ensure that they could continue trading. Extra Fire Crews were mobilised to facilitate this activity.

Contingency arrangements were also put in place by our Fire and Emergency Service in order to ensure appropriate fire cover across the City throughout the period. Extra commercial tankers were acquired as necessary. This was particularly important for the fire at the former St. Annes Hospital site, Shanakiel on the 29th December 2010.

Leak Detection and Repair

The City Council dealt with a further circa 150 leaks between 24th and 31st December 2010. Approximately 30 of these were significant in scale. It will take a number of weeks for all leaks to be found and repaired. The level of extra demand arising from leaks on private property was very significant and the pace at which property owners repaired leaks was a very important factor in stabilising and reducing demand. Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 50% of the abnormal demand is associated with such leaks. Throughout the holiday period the Council contacted schools and major water users directly and via the media in relation to the need to check properties and repair leaks. The Council also assigned staff to checking meters for abnormal consumption in an effort to reduce demand quickly. Where necessary, supply was discontinued to vacant properties where the Council detected significant losses and property owners were notified

Street Cleaning and Refuse Services -

Due to the severe weather some difficulties arose with access to estates for the collection of refuse. Residual waste was removed quickly whenever possible. This was a significant challenge as it coincided with both the reorganisation of collection routes and what is traditionally the busiest period for the service. In addition, extra staff were assigned to collect bags of dry recyclable material so as to limit the potential for antisocial behaviour.

Street cleaning services were maintained throughout the severe weather and the heavily trafficked City Centre area in particular presented in the best possible light.

Housing Services

The normal provision of two plumbers on call was doubled over the Christmas holiday period in anticipation of cold weather and subsequent thaw emergencies that would arise. However, in view of the large numbers of emergency situations that arose in our own housing stock, all available plumbers, other staff, and external contractors were deployed as required.

During Christmas week and up to Wednesday, 29th December, approximately 600 emergency housing maintenance calls were received and responded to. These consisted of essentially frozen or burst pipes and heating problems. In a normal wintertime week, there would be approximately 30 such calls. Resources were extremely stretched during this period, with staff working long hours in difficult conditions over the holiday period.

Approximately 30 Cork City Council tenants had to temporarily vacate their properties as a result of severe weather related damage. Alternative accommodation, by way of vacant properties or guesthouses, was provided for those tenants who could not satisfactorily stay with relatives. Repairs to all such temporarily vacated properties is being prioritised and is expected to be completed within the next two weeks. There may be 4 to 5 properties where repairs may take longer and these tenants have already or will be provided with alternative accommodation by way of temporary convenience lettings as required.

Work is also continuing to carry out repairs to all properties where damage has occurred, again with priority being given to the more badly damaged housing stock. Of necessity the repair work to less badly damaged properties will take some time to be fully attended to, but all housing maintenance resources are being so deployed.

Communications

The primary objective of communications during this period was to ensure that the general public was:

• informed with accurate data on any public water supply network restrictions that would need to be put in place
• informed with regard to alternative public water supply distribution points being put in place
• informed to the extent that the lack of a water supply within a property was not necessarily due to a public water supply difficulty, in view of the multiplicity of matters that could affect private plumbing installations in a severe weather situation
• informed with regard to the need to assess their own private plumbing installations
• In order to meet this, the following communication channels were used:
• At a national level, there was a clear and unambiguous message delivered throughout the period of water supply difficulties on the need for householders and businesses to check their own property for leaks. This was the primary message that the Local Government Sector in conjunction with the DOEHLG wished to relay. This was carried on national media daily, with a commentary on the general position in local authority areas.
• At a local level, this Council issued 12 Press Releases between 22nd December 2010 and 5th January 2011. Press Releases issued daily with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Years Day and January 2nd. Press Releases issued twice daily at the height of the crisis on the 27th and 28th December.
• Press Releases issue to a media listing of over 100 people who cover the main media outlets – print, TV and radio, both local and national. Members of Council and Cork TDs and Senators also receive press releases.
• Information contained in the press releases was placed simultaneously on the City Council Website (News Section on the Home Page). This was also done in a timely manner to ensure that affected areas would have adequate notice of impending restrictions. The website also contained a detailed map of the areas to be affected by restrictions.
• All press releases issued contained accurate information with regard to the supply restrictions and alternative supply distribution points. They were carried in local print and media outlets. On radio, 96fm was of particular assistance in that it carried up to date information throughout each day. The press releases and website updates met all the primary communications objectives.
• In addition to Press Releases and web updates, telephone calls were made and received by staff in the Corporate Affairs Section to and from members of Council, and the media. Also, staff of the Water Services Directorate and, in particular, Housing, Roads, and Emergency Services Directorates all responded to any queries emerging.
• TV interviews were also held on the 22nd December and 29th December, 2010 with TG4 and RTE.
• The Council’s Emergency Number was used as the primary point of contact for general public queries. This was operated by the Council’s Fire and Emergency Service on a 24 hour basis throughout the Christmas period. Additional crew members were drafted in to supervise and co-ordinate the calls, referring them to our Out-of- hours Services Co-ordinator system as required. Staff from the Water Services Directorate also assisted with information updates and the handling of calls.

Activity levels

Activity levels across our telephone and website communication channels was as follows:

Telephone

• In excess of 900 calls were received per day in the peak times of the water restrictions. The nature of the calls were that they were repetitive and raised multiple issues. Of significance was that a high proportion of them related to individual supply problems within properties, which were not within the control or remit of the City Council to resolve. In that regard, it is extremely difficult for any emergency line/information service to provide assurance and satisfaction to a caller with regard to resolution of their particular difficulty. Of interest also is that calls were being received with regard to water services in the adjoining county areas.
• The inevitable resultant outcome from providing such a service to the public, regardless of the level of resources that would be committed to it, is that callers in many instances perceive the response of the City Council to be inadequate. The fact is, that in view of the multiplicity of variants as to why ones water supply is disrupted, it was not possible in a high proportion of cases to give certainty on the resolution of their specific query. However, the Council was able to give certainty with regard to its proposed public supply restrictions and, was able to respond to many public network leaks through its co-ordination system once highlighted by a caller.
• There has been some criticism that the emergency number could not be accessed by some callers. While this may be that case, I would reiterate that the primary objective of communications for the period of this event, are as outlined earlier. The Council achieved this and, the existence of a 24hour emergency service number, supported by a similar services co-ordination system to manage service requests which could be dealt with by the Council, is a significant asset to city dwellers.

Website

The following table presents an analysis of activity on the Council’s Website for the period Thursday 23rd December 2010 to Monday 3rd January 2011.

Date Page Views User Sessions

The Page View data represents how many times any page on the site is accessed, while User Sessions represents an individual user session within a 30 minute period. A User revisiting at a later period during the day would count as a second user.

Further analysis of activity shows that the majority of Users accessed pages on the site which contained our daily press releases/news items.

Of interest also, is that the activity levels on the 3 days 27th-29th December were 3 of the top five busiest days of website activity in 2010.

This clearly shows that the website is a significant tool in our communications strategy. In that regard, the daily updates on water restrictions, standpipe locations, and advice to property owners were of significant benefit.

Conclusion

In any event of this nature, it is inevitable that expectation levels in terms of the City Council’s response will vary across individuals. The above report sets out the range of matters that required an exceptional level of response from City Council staff. The response was planned and prepared for, and was managed and delivered in a manner which was also able to respond swiftly to emerging daily issues. It is important not to forget the fact that it was also delivered over a seasonal holiday period and, in sometimes appalling weather conditions.

In assessing the adequacy of the Council’s response, both from a service delivery and a communications viewpoint, it is important to remember that the responsibility of the City Council is first and foremost to ensure that its resources are prioritised to respond on the ground to service disruptions. The primary focus and responsibility of the City Council in dealing with this period of water disruptions was to:

• first and foremost to ensure that its resources are prioritised to respond on the ground to the emerging situation.
• maximise a continued supply of water to the city in the context of the constraints faced, and if necessary, prioritise supply to critical service areas
• ensure that the Council responds to emergency housing matters across its 8,600 tenanted housing stock
• ensure that there continued to be an adequate level of Firefighting capacity across the city and
• respond, in so far as possible, to specific emergency cases that might arise.
• ensure that the primary objectives of communications, as outlined earlier, are met.

I am satisfied that the Council dealt successfully with each of the above.

As with any event of this nature, I will in due course, in conjunction with the members of our Crisis Management Team, be examining the actions taken so as to copperfasten the Council’s response regime for future events. I am however satisfied that, in the context of the challenges faced, the Council met its primary objectives.

It remains for me to offer my sincere thanks to all staff of the organisation who responded to the events of the past 6 weeks in the interests of serving the citizens of this city. This is a time when public servants have shown their true commitment to serving this city and in many cases beyond the call of duty. The ongoing level of commitment of staff to this type of work, in very difficult conditions, is to be commended.

I also wish to thank the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Michael O’Connell and the Members of Council for their support during this period.

TIM LUCEY,

CITY MANAGER.

10th January, 2011.

Currently all Roads Maintenance crews are undertaking salting and gritting operations on footpaths and roads throughout the city and are responding to reports of ice at specific locations. These operations will continue throughout the day and it is anticipated at this time that there will another full salting run this evening. The City Council has sufficient supplies of salt and grit at present but is dependent on demand.

Additionally, in response to demands, the City Council is making salt/grit available to residents associations from this afternoon. The collection details are as follows:-

Times:

• Friday 2.30pm – 5.00 pm;
• Saturday 10am – 4.00pm;
• Sunday 10am – 4.00pm;

Locations:

• North: Knocknaheeny Avenue off Harbor View Road at ex-Housing Area Office depot.
• South: Roads South Depot at Ravenscourt, Skehard Road

Loading Arrangements:

A limited number of sandbags are available at the depots but people are encouraged to bring their own bags/containers if possible. Bags to be self filled but shovels will be available at the depots. People are reminded to exercise due care during the operation.

Supplies are subject to availability of City Council salt stocks and of course continuing cold weather. Continuation of this arrangement will be reviewed on Monday.

Three water jets availing of cheap night rate electricity and recycling 11,000 gallons of water an hour were installed in early Summer to improve dissolved oxygen levels in the water particularly during warm weather.

A sample of carp fry were recently tested by the Marine Institute, with a view to removing a proportion of the stock, as the number of fish are having a negative impact on the water quality. The Marine Institute have confirmed that a small portion of the sample (25%) has tested positive for Koi Herpes Virus (KHV), although there has been no clinical outbreak of the virus at the Lough. Further tests will be carried out shortly to definitively determine the health status of these carp.

The Marine Institute is responsible for the implementation of Council Directive 2006/88/EC in Ireland which deals with the health of aquaculture animals and the prevention and control of certain aquatic disease. The Marine Institute recently established a National Surveillance Programme for KHV in order to assess Ireland’s status with respect to this disease. The surveillance programme, covering 20 waters in the country including the Lough, and operating in co-operation with Inland Fisheries Ireland (known as Central Fisheries Board previously), will be carried out over the next two years.

The City Council, following consultation with the Marine Institute, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Cork Carp Anglers Association has prepared a Biosecurity Plan for the Lough which has been approved by the Marine Institute to ensure that good hygiene practices are operated by anglers and other stakeholders.

Co-operation with these measures is essential if the spread of diseases or hazardous invasive species within the country is to be effectively controlled. Such measures currently operate in many recreational and managed fisheries throughout Ireland.

These biosecurity measures will require that:-

• All landing nets, unhooking mats, boots or other equipment that come into contact with the water whilst fishing are disinfected and rinsed in clean water prior to use at the lake.

• All landing nets, equipment etc., are disinfected and rinsed in clean water on completion of each fishing occasion at the Lough (prior to leaving the lake).

• Keep nets are forbidden at the lake save by prior approval of City Council where additional temporary larger disinfectant/rinse units can be installed. Facilities for disinfecting all fishing tackle will be provided at the Lough(Disinfectant/Rinse Units) and a protocol for use of the facilities will be provided on site.

The Marine Institute has given authorisation to the City Council to operate a Put and Take Fishery at the Lough based on the Biosecurity Plan submitted.

The Council will continue its monitoring programme.

“That Cork City Council would run a pilot scheme, to expore the advantages of making the Marina a traffic free pedestrianised area at weekends, with a view to a more permanent implementation of the scheme.”

At the Roads and Transportation functional committee meeting last week I received the following report on the motion:

“In principle the Traffic Division would be supportive of the proposal to convert the Marina area to a traffic free zone at weekends. However, the route at present serves the various needs of the various rowing clubs located on the Marina, Páirc Uí Chaoimh and also private houses at the eastern end of the Marina. Any proposals to pedestrianise the area for certain periods would have to consider not alone their needs but also those of An Garda Siochána and the needs of the emergency services such as the City Fire Brigade and the Ambulance Services.

To provide a pedestrianised area would require resources to be provided by City Council on an on-going basis to provide the necessary signage, barriers, etc. and until such time as funding is provided, the implementation of a‟ pedestrianisation pilot scheme‟ for The Marina cannot be undertaken.”

I and other councillors  were not happy with this report. It is obvious that all stakeholders who use the Marina would have to be catered for if such a pilot scheme were to proceed and this was the rationale behind my motion, asking that City Council would explore these possibilities. That the scheme was dismissed by the Traffic Division because of a lack of funding, when no breakdown of costs were presented to the meeting was also disappointing.

It was agreed not to approve this report, until further information was available, and it was referred to a meeting of the local councillors in the area for further discussion.

**I would be interested to hear your views on this idea.**

The pilot will run for six months and enables the public to report environmental complaints to a call centre 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The call centre then emails the details of the complaint to the relevant local authority.

In many cases, it will be possible to resolve an environmental problem by contacting the person or business that you think is causing the problem directly.If you are out and about and you see an environmental problem like pollution in a river or backyard burning of waste, littering, noise, dust and smell phone the number below and help keep Cork clean & green.

When you make a complaint, you will be told how your complaint will be dealt with. Some problems can be resolved quickly. However, some environmental problems by their nature can take a considerable amount of time to resolve.

Please phone the 24 hour National Complaint Line on LoCall: 1800 22 22 26. Alternatively you may contact Cork City Council directly as follows: environment@corkcity.ie or phone 021 4924726

Tuesday 20th July from 22:00hrs to 05:00hrs on Wednesday 21st July:

• Beaumont
• Well Road
• Silverdale
• Woodvale
• Church Road
• Blackrock Road (from Crab Lane to Blackrock Castle)
• Skehard Road
• Convent Lane
• Ballinlough Road
• Beechwood Park
• Belmont Park
• Ardfallen Park
• Browningstown Park
• Hettyfield

Wednesday 21st July from 22:00hrs to 05:00hrs on Thursday 22nd July:

• Togher Road
• Clashduv Road
• Glasheen Road
• Summerstown Road
• Deanrock
• Vicars Road
• Pouladuff Road
• Earlwood Estate
• Ardmanning Avenue
• Tramore Road
• and surrounding areas.

Thursday 22nd July from 22:00hrs to 05:00hrs on Friday 23rd July:

• Bishopstown Road
• Curraheen Road
• Halldene
• Uam Var
• Melbourn
• Leesdale
• Rossbrook
• Model Farm Road
• Kenley

Every effort will be made to keep the disruption to a minimum. Some slight discoloration may occur when water is restored. This discolouration is harmless and will clear in a short time.

Please check the clarity of the water at the kitchen tap before use particularly when operating drink vending machines, washing machines, dishwashers etc. Please ensure that all taps are in the closed position for the period of the shut off.

Please help us by informing your neighbours who may not read this notice.  Please contact the Water Services Department at 021/4924514 or 021/4924228 if you have any queries.

Following on the success of the last two years Bonfire Night Events Projects on June 23rd, the Council is again organizing and supporting a number of family friendly events throughout the City on the evening of Bonfire Night. The project is being managed by the Recreation, Amenity and Culture Department, with the support of Community Wardens, RAPID Coordinators, the Gardai, Emergency Services, local community groups and other agencies .An Event Coordinator has been engaged to assist with the delivery of the project.

Five major outdoor events are planned in City Council parks as follows, with a range of activities such as games, bouncing castles, sports, face painting, karaoke etc

• Kilmore Park, Knocknaheeny 6.00 pm – 9.00pm
• Pophams Park, Farranree 4.00 pm – 7.00 pm
• Glenamoy Park, Mayfield 5.00 pm – 8.00pm
• Loughmahon Park, Mahon 6.30pm – 9.30pm
• Clashduv Park, Togher. 5.30pm – 9.30pm

Organised, supervised bonfires will take place at the Clashduv Park, Loughmahon Park and Kilmore Park events. Particular focus has been placed on having local groups and clubs participate in all projects.

In addition, support is also being given to other community events being organized in Black pool( Blackpool Youth Club) ,Kerryhall Road, Willow Park/Glencurrig/Ballincurrig, Douglas and Bishopstown ( Bishopstown Youth Project, Community Ass, Gardai) . At Leesdale, Model Farm Road and at Willow Park/Glencurrig, at the request of residents, the Council has erected No Bonfire signs in the estates, and written to all residents advising that no bonfires are being permitted on the green areas, and that the residents associations are organizing alternative activities on the night. It is encouraging to see a number of new events this year, at Glenamoy Park in Mayfield, Bishopstown and Willow /Gelncurrig Park it being the Councils intention to support additional

Last year, 8000 people attended these events, with over 40 community groups involved in their organisation, as well as over 150 local community volunteers. It is particularly encouraging to note a number of new projects this year. (Glenamoy Lawn, Willow Park and Bishopstown) .

The Councils Parks Department as in previous years will endeavour to remove bonfire material where possible , but in recent years, much of the material is hoarded securely until the actual night itself. Priority will be given to removing material where there is a risk to health and safety, property, power lines etc.