Complaints about pigeons plaguing town centre

3 hours ago

Euan Duncan,Local Democracy reporterand

Tony Fisher,Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

A meeting heard that pigeons were causing damage to the historical George's Hall in Biggleswade

Google A three-storey red brick building in a town which is next to a pub and another large building to its left. There are cars on the road in the foreground. — A meeting heard that pigeons were causing damage to the historical George's Hall in Biggleswade

Concerns have been raised about the amount of damage pigeons are causing to town centre buildings.

A meeting has heard that pigeons have been "plaguing" Biggleswade in Bedfordshire and in particular George's Hall which is named after former Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

Nick Fee, trustee of the Biggleswade Liberal Club, which is responsible for the upkeep of the hall, said that an "increasing number of pigeons nesting and resting on the roof" had led to "significant faeces".

A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council said its "street cleansing teams visit the town centre daily removing pigeon waste wherever possible".

But they said the local authority did not provide pigeon removal or pest control services for privately owned buildings.

Mayor of Biggleswade Jonathan Woodhead told the meeting other buildings in the town were "plagued" by pigeons

Biggleswade Town Council A town mayor who is wearing a suit with a white shirt and grey tie. He has his mayoral chains around his shoulders. He has short light brown hair and is wearing glasses. He is smiling into the camera. — Mayor of Biggleswade Jonathan Woodhead told the meeting other buildings in the town were "plagued" by pigeons

Fee told the Biggleswade Town Council meeting on Tuesday that "feral pigeons" were "plaguing the Market Square and the surrounding conservation area".

He said the club, which is a not-for-profit association, could not afford the £8,000 it had been quoted for scaffolding to provide access for the maintenance at George's Hall - according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"[This] doesn't include any cost of the repair and roof upkeep," he added.

Town mayor Jonathan Woodhead sympathised with Fee and said the problem went beyond George's Hall.

Woodhead said another building, Century House, was "plagued by pigeons".

Grant Fage, a Conservative for Biggleswade East on Central Bedfordshire Council, said: "I'm becoming increasingly concerned about pockets of the town and what these pigeons are doing."

Biggleswade Town Council's head of governance and strategic partnerships, Karim Hosseini, said: "Officers have treated this in varying stages by putting in meshing and spikes on the Century House building perimeter, as well as more meshing and some signage with the landlord's permission around the Abbots Walk area."

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