100 signatures reached
To: Wicklow County Council
Please Help to Restore & Save Our Historic Greens
We need your support to restore and protect our historic Greens and Octagon, dating back to the 1780s. They are vital to our community’s heritage, environment, and wellbeing.
Why is this important?
Stratford-on-Slaney is unique. It’s one of Ireland’s very few planned villages, built on a hill overlooking the River Slaney in 1774 and completed around the 1780s by Edward Stratford, the 2nd Earl of Aldborough. His vision was a Georgian industrial town, centred on a thriving cotton and calico printing industry that employed over 1,000 people at its peak.
What’s happened?
Recently, the Stratford Tidy Towns Committee placed clay mounds on our Greens without community consultation or showing residents any visual plans. Despite four requests for an open meeting to allow dialogue, they have declined to engage with us.
When residents attended the most recent Tidy Towns meeting to raise objections, we were told they will only follow what the National Tidy Towns judges say about the mounds. Our community’s voice does not matter to them.
Why we object:
1. Massive loss of heritage: The 2025 National judges said our Octagon, chestnut trees, and old buildings on High Street are what make Stratford a very beautiful village. These mounds destroy a 250-year-old heritage feature.
2. Health & safety: About 60 tons of soil now create dangerous bike ramps for children and block sightlines for drivers.
3. Security: Families that live on the Green are worried about privacy and falling house values.
4. Loss of tradition: The village Christmas tree can no longer be placed in the centre. Every use of the Green that served generations for 250 years will now be lost.
This is our only open green space. It is the heart of our village.
We are calling for the mounds to be removed and our historic Green restored.
If you believe that heritage and the original sites of our villages and towns should be cared for with pride, please sign our petition and share it with your friends. We need your support. So far we have been met with silence.
What’s happened?
Recently, the Stratford Tidy Towns Committee placed clay mounds on our Greens without community consultation or showing residents any visual plans. Despite four requests for an open meeting to allow dialogue, they have declined to engage with us.
When residents attended the most recent Tidy Towns meeting to raise objections, we were told they will only follow what the National Tidy Towns judges say about the mounds. Our community’s voice does not matter to them.
Why we object:
1. Massive loss of heritage: The 2025 National judges said our Octagon, chestnut trees, and old buildings on High Street are what make Stratford a very beautiful village. These mounds destroy a 250-year-old heritage feature.
2. Health & safety: About 60 tons of soil now create dangerous bike ramps for children and block sightlines for drivers.
3. Security: Families that live on the Green are worried about privacy and falling house values.
4. Loss of tradition: The village Christmas tree can no longer be placed in the centre. Every use of the Green that served generations for 250 years will now be lost.
This is our only open green space. It is the heart of our village.
We are calling for the mounds to be removed and our historic Green restored.
If you believe that heritage and the original sites of our villages and towns should be cared for with pride, please sign our petition and share it with your friends. We need your support. So far we have been met with silence.