Councillors agree to employ street sweeper to keep on top of persistent pigeon poo problem

Town councillors have voted in favour of a proposal to employ somebody tasked with street sweeping in Horncastle as a short term solution to an ongoing pigeon poo problem.
Pigeons on the roof of the Post Office, in Horncastle.Pigeons on the roof of the Post Office, in Horncastle.
Pigeons on the roof of the Post Office, in Horncastle.

The pigeon problem in the town was discussed at this month’s Horncastle Town Council meeting.

Councillor Brian Burbidge, who is one of three councillors in a ‘pigeon watching group’, said: “I have spent a lot of time reading different papers.

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“This is not going to be easy and there is no easy answer to getting rid of these pigeons.

“I think there is a fairly easy answer to preventing pigeon fouling in the town but it will require businesses to be involved.

“I think that pigeon prevention methods could be one of the very simple things that could be done to resolve the fouling and the safety of people on the pavement.

“I am not saying it will stop it completely but it will certainly - in the hotspot areas - change it considerably.

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“Looking at the various different methods that I can see of pigeon prevention most of them seem to be very long term and very involved.

“There is no simple answer - it is not just a case of waving your arms and saying go away pigeons - it just doesn’t happen.

“Again, looking around, I couldn’t see any evidence of pigeons being there - only occasionally.

“One of the key things is keeping bins empty - that may have been highlighted by Councillor Richard Avison as there is a shortage of street cleaning people.

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“That could be another answer to helping solve the pigeon problem - a few more empties a month, or whatever.”

Councillor Burbidge also spoke about stopping the birds breeding by collecting pigeon eggs or using a bird of prey to catch pigeons.

Coun Burbidge said: “These are wild animals and if something flies in the path of a bird of prey and it fancies a snack it will eat it.

“We have also got a wildlife problem here.

“I don’t really know what the answer is but I think there are more steps we can take that can reduce some of the problems of roosting and pavement fouling.

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“A three-metre length of spikes and a tube of glue for around £40, which can help reduce fouling.

“I just don’t know how we are going to stop these birds from roosting .

“We’ve got to take them at least 50 miles away to have any level of success.

“I think we are going to be stuck with the problem, but I think there are measures that we can take to keep the town clean.

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“There is a maintenance problem in the town that needs looking at and resolving which may well help with the pigeon problem.

“But this is not an easy matter.”

Councillor Richard Barker, who is also a member of the ‘pigeon watching group’, said: “I agree with the principles that Coun Burbidge has said.

“Short term we need to clean the pavements - if ELDC could do it that would be great otherwise we are going to have to step up and do it.

“I think action has to be linked with business owners stepping up the plate.

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“Large windowsills mean pigeons sit out and poo towards the glass - those who manage to roost on a thin windowsill/gutter tend to do it the other way round, causing the poo to go vertically down.

“So I am saying sweeping first to deal with the problem we have currently got, try and get building owners to protect their buildings.

“For my own building I am going to consider that - it does come with a cost as it has to be done with scaffolding, which isn’t cheap.”

Coun Barker agreed to continue monitoring the situation with councillors Burbidge and Birchall.

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Councillor Dominic Hinkins added: “I completely agree with what has been said and I think we do need more street cleaning programmes.

“Unmaintained buildings - we can’t really make the building owners do the measures necessary.”

“Coun Burbidge mentioned that a lot of the buildings already have prevention measures in place - they are a bit of an eyesore themselves and they don’t appear to be very effective.

“The one thing I don’t think there is any sense in doing is trying to cull or move pigeons.

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“As we have been told multiple times now, if you kill the pigeons or move them, more pigeons will come in and take their place and it won’t work .”

Councillor Matt Wilkinson said: “I am going to echo Councillor Hinkins’ thoughts.

“The size of the pigeon flock is dictated by the supply of food.

“The mortality rate of pigeons is very high so by culling/moving them it is just a waste of £8-£10,000 a year, so I don’t think we can support that.

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“Business owners do have a requirement as a property owner to protect their properties from pests.”

Councillor Terry McCarthy added: “I think we have got to admit the pigeons are here to stay and I think we have just got to manage and try to clean the streets.”

At the meeting, town clerk Amanda Bushell revealed how much it would cost to employ somebody to sweep the streets.

She said: “Ten hours suggested a week would cost £6,000 plus uniform and PPE on top of that, which isn’t overly 
expensive but that is what we would be looking at to employ somebody.”

Coun Hinkins said: “I think we should consider doing that.

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“If we are talking about spending £8-14,000 on killing the pigeons and then still having a problem, we may as well spend money on getting it done.”

Councillor Mark Everton said: “Coming from a farming background, the only way to sort this is to cull and to continue to cull.”

Newly co-opted Councillor Kirsty Clamp added: “Is there a way of maybe getting a false bird of prey if it is just a certain area with a pigeon problem?”

Coun Burbidge replied: “Many have tried plastic birds of prey with feathers but they do not work - it has been tried.”

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During the discussion, Councillor James Martin said: “I think we need to have a look at fixing the problem.

“We could cull but eventually those pigeon numbers would return and this appears to be a cheaper option, and we could also look at some preventative measures as well.”

Coun Hinkins added: “I’d like to propose that we spend the money required to get street cleaning done.”

Councillors voted in favour of the proposal.

They agreed to ask the Personal and Finances Committee to find the money to fund £6,000.