ENNISKILLEN may have been named among the towns for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s (FODC) Best Kept Awards but some residents are not happy.
In total, 14 towns and villages have been nominated for the awards and the judges are now out visiting the areas.
However, despite Enniskillen’s nomination, several comments on the FODC’s Facebook post promoting the awards complained that photos used to highlight the county town were of “hard areas” not “grass areas” such as roundabouts and grass verges.
“Flower pots/beds have a great touch to a town or village but what about a 3-mile radius around them that have been left to overgrow with grass, weeds and rubbish,” one person pointed out.
“You are having a laugh! Enniskillen is embarrassingly bad. Overgrown with weeds on every road into the town, roundabouts full of weeds with a few skimpy plants that can’t be seen through said weeds and pavement cracks filled with… weeds!” an angry resident said.
Another posted: “It’s actually a disgrace ya have hanging flower baskets by [the] council at [the] library while underneath it’s all been sprayed with likes of weed killer so everything that had been growing is now just dead grass and weeds.”
“Is a blind man judging? Enniskillen is a disgrace!” one barbed comment made clear.
A Council spokesperson said that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) was responsible for the maintenance of roundabouts and roadside verges in, and on the approach roads to, Enniskillen.
“The Council continues to lobby the Department for Infrastructure in respect of their approach to grass-cutting and verge maintenance across the District,” the spokesperson said.
“Council staff undertake a programme of daily, weekly and monthly scheduled maintenance activities across its estate and Enniskillen has regularly been recognised in the Best Kept Awards.
“Our staff work closely with many local volunteers and community groups, on an ongoing basis, reflecting a renewed focus on ‘community spirit’ within the Best Kept Awards.
“As a member of ‘Leave No Trace Ireland’, the Council encourages all residents and visitors to play their part to help keep the District clean and tidy and we commend the various community groups for their work to support our staff.”
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