Town urged to tidy up ahead of Volvo Ocean race opportunity

By JACQUELINE HOGGE TUAM should not miss out a second time on the possibilities afforded by next year's Volvo Ocean Race in the city, the town council has been told. The matter was raised following a presentation by representatives of Tuam Tidy Towns committee, who were seeking support from the council in their efforts to enhance the appearance of the town. Town Manager Frank Gilmore urged those concerned to formally submit proposals to Galway Co Council regarding their plans and said the benefits of next year's finishing leg of the Volvo Ocean Race could be reaped if sufficient preparations were put in place. [private] 'We held a meeting recently with representatives of the Volvo Ocean Race and there is a big push to spread the dividends that this event will have for the city out to the county towns,' he said. 'There is no reason why Tuam cannot be part of this and there is the possibility for towns to adopt a team involved in the race. 'All hotel rooms within a ten mile radius of the city have already been booked up for the duration of the festival and it turns out that 50 per cent of the Abu Dhabi team are in fact Irish so the potential is there, it just needs to be exploited. 'They are expecting three or four times the numbers they had in 2009 and with a worldwide audience of billions, it is a great opportunity for the county to showcase all it has globally.' Assistance Mr Gilmore also confirmed that assistance would be provided to groups such as Tidy Towns for enhancement projects, as soon as the Big Dig was complete. 'Money is available and Tuam Town Council has supported a number of environmental and enhancement projects for the town in recent years,' he said. 'Galway Co Council is very supportive of these projects and in terms of the Volvo race we would be anxious for Tuam to get involved as an opportunity was definitely missed for the town the last time.' Meanwhile, Tidy Town members Joe Grogan and Pat Fahy have asked for the Town Council to take over the running of a community initiative whereby residential estates compete for environmental awards. Few volunteers Addressing this month's council meeting, both men said that while their efforts at keeping the town centre clean had been successful, the small number of volunteers working on the Tidy Towns project made it difficult. 'There are only between five and ten people helping out with this so we need more involvement from the community, as well as help from the council in terms of taking on the running of a residential competition,' said Pat Fahy. Cllr Imelda Kelly proposed that the council support the request and said funding for prizes could be explored at a later date. Joe Grogan asked the council to also lend its support to a business initiative involving local firms that is part of the group's three-year plan to make the town a more attractive place to residents and visitors alike. 'We have devised a three-year plan involving a number of initiatives such as cleaning up and landscaping the access roads into the town,' he said. 'We have been in talks with Transitions Optical, who have agreed to support us with staff helping out in clean up operations, as it's not just financial support we are looking for here. 'We're hoping to speak with Valeo and JFC over the coming weeks while WERS have been supporting us with the provision of skips and we're also getting help from O'Toole's, given that Super Valu is the main sponsor of the Tidy Towns scheme.' [/private]