But knock Tidy Towns at your peril — a gong for your town could add between 2% and 25% to the value of your home, say estate agents, especially if it’s a regular award-winner. This is backed by a recent survey which shows that living in a winning town can increase the value of your home by as much as €15,000.
However, some believe a TT victory can add much more. Phillip O’Reilly of O’Reilly Taylor Tweedy in Ennis, this year’s large urban centre winner, believes a win results in a net gain of as much as 10% overall. Even if you factor a national average increase of 15% per annum, this still gives the Clare contestants a net gain of 10% in house price values.
Rising prices linked to TT wins are not limited to Co Clare, however. The three-times past winner Ardagh, Co Longford, is home to the famous Ardagh Chalice as well as house prices that punch 20% above the region’s weight. Fintan McGill, of Sherry FitzGerald McGill in Longford, recently sold a detached house in the village for more than half-a-million.
“Comparatively, a similar-sized house in Longford town would sell for €300,000-€330,000. Part of Ardagh’s ability to command premium prices is a direct spin-off from the village’s performance in the Tidy Towns’ competition,” admits McGill.
Westport — population 5,000 and a hanging-basket heaven — is this year’s TT overall winner. Its coastal setting means that property here has always been in demand. Peter Tuohy, of Tuohy Real Estate Alliance, figures the win will add a value of between 2% and 5% to the prices achieved for properties in the Mayo town.
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“Westport is an attractive, well-planned town and is second only to Galway in terms of house prices,” adds Gerard O’Toole of Sherry FitzGerald O’Toole. “With the average town house now costing €300,000, prices are about 20% above those being achieved in Castlebar, the nearby county town.”
In Aughrim, Co Wicklow, this year’s tidiest small town winner, with a population of 1,000, house prices have increased by a solid 18-20%, says Gordon Lennox of Lennox Estates. This is only marginally ahead of the national average, but it still means the Tidy Towns award accounts for a further three percentage points rise in local house prices.
The two-time winner Ballyconnell in Co Cavan hasn’t won gold since 1974, but the ripple effect still means that properties in the town are about 5% above the county average, says PJ O’Reilly of O’Reilly, Taylor & Tweedy.
Indeed, on a national level, Alan Redmond, director of Shane Redmond Residential in Swords, cites an average house price increase of 5% as a direct result of a Tidy Town award. It’s a rise not to be sniffed at for a lick of paint and a few hanging baskets. Or is there more to winning the competition than that? Simon Wall, Westport’s town architect, believes the competition has moved out of its 1950s flowers and paint remit. Conservation and sustainable elements contributed to his town’s winning strategy. “With every planning application in Westport there are now stipulations that hardwood sash windows replace existing PVC ones; neon signage is a no-no; bat and bird boxes have been built into the trees to encourage nesting; and a semi-mature tree-planting programme is in place.”
“Street frontage plays a huge role in selling the look of the town,” says Lennox of Aughrim. The local builder Jim O’Brien’s presence on the TT committee has no doubt proved vital to the success of the south Wicklow village, with its stone terraced houses. O’Brien is described by the town’s TT chairman, Bernard Keating, as having great vision.
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Currently, there are 100 houses under construction in the village and the TT committee keeps a watchful eye on all new developments. “There is no dictatorship,” says Keating. “Co-operation and talk is the name of the game.” But they are a force to be reckoned with. One condition of a recent development’s planning permission was that the front of the building be laid out in co- operation with the TT committee.
So, are the days when floral flair was key to a winning formula gone? “Good planning is not pro- or anti-flowers,” says Dr Paul Cusack, a Tidy Towns adjudicator and college principal for Teagasc at the National Botanic Gardens. “These days we’re trying to promote a more sustainable style of planting with trees as its backbone. Seasonal plants are another secret to success.”
Grass, too, is pretty important. “Ireland is a green country, so well-tended grass verges, parks, open spaces and gardens also improve the look of a place,” adds the plant professional. “Colourful seasonal plants still have impact, but they work best within the framework of the other aforementioned elements. Flowers look best in village centres and streets as long as they’re not competing with the natural landscape of the town or village.”
Though this year’s winners, Aughrim, Westport, Ennis and Birdhill all had significant petal quotients, Ballymun won a new entry award this year and there wasn’t a hanging basket in sight. Architecture and community spirit were Dublin 11’s selling points.
An essential part of the winning strategy is a litter-free environment, an area that Swords has focused on to maximise its prospects of winning a national category. “This is Swords’ second year entering the competition. The town has gone from being the dirtiest town in Fingal to litter-free status, as recently awarded by Irish Businesses Against Litter,” says Redmond.
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House prices have also risen an extra 10%-15% above average since then. So now you know. If you and your neighbours want thousnads more for your homes, reach for those hanging baskets.