Cleaning and greening to begin

A new initiative to refresh and revitalise Cork city streets will begin next week with North Main Street.

It’s part of Cork Business Association’s (CBA) Cleaning and Greening Street Initiative which aims to improve Cork city one street at a time.

Working closely with local businesses on the street and CBA volunteers, the initiative, which is in in partnership with Cork City Council, will give the street a spring refresh, focusing on deep cleaning, power washing, removing algae, planting, painting, with a drive to improving the overall streetscape. CBA will provide cleaning supplies, gloves, litter pickers, brushes, and paint to support the works. Painting and cleaning contractors will also be on site to assist.

This initiative follows a visual Clutter and Quality Audit of the street, undertaken by CBA and Cork City Council, identifying short, medium, and long-term actions to enhance the area. The audit identified a range of short, medium, and long-term actions to improve the area from clearing dirt and debris, to addressing unsightly wiring, redundant poles, outdated signage, broken lights, and anything in need of repair or replacement. Cork City Council has already completed a deep clean of the pavements.

The first Cleaning and Greening event will take place on 29 April and the CBA is calling for volunteers from the business community on the street to get involved. On the morning, the CBA and volunteers will clean litter and weeds, install new plant baskets, paint poles and gates, wash windows and facades, and bring new life to 14 electricity boxes through a creative street mural project led by artist Alan Hurley.

The initiative is supported by McKechnie Cleaning Services and Pat McDonnell Paint.

CBA President Dave O’Brien said: “This is about the business community taking real ownership and pride in our city and making it as attractive as possible to shoppers, visitors and residents.”

Neville Culhane of Neville Jewellers and Chair of the CBA’s Safe & Clean Committee, added: “It’s our collective responsibility to keep our streets looking great, in partnership with Cork City Council. We want to encourage civic pride, one street at a time.”

The initiative will be rolled out across the city annually, with the CBA also offering support to other business districts by sharing learnings, conducting audits, and advising on available grants and supports.

The ambition is clear: to create the cleanest, safest city in Ireland to visit, work, live, and do business in.