Pigeon mess tackled in Winchester
A Winchester City Council clean up has begun in the city centre to remove bird mess in particularly problematic areas.
The council has developed a strategy to control pigeon mess in the city centre. The new approach will include a cleansing schedule focusing on 6 locations with cleaning taking place every 2 months and fortnightly in the case of the Buttercross and Guildhall entrance.
The council is working closely with Winchester BID to encourage local businesses to remove food waste from outdoor seating areas. The council will also be talking to business owners to promote measures that can be taken to prevent or reduce the number of pigeons roosting on buildings in ways which are sympathetic to the historic city.
Cllr Jan Warwick, Conservative City Council portfolio holder for the Environment, said:
We are aware pigeons are a problem, especially in specific areas of the city centre.
We’re committed to ensuring that we protect and enhance our historic city centre and we have agreed a series of measures to address this issue. We are taking action and with the help and hard work of everyone we can make sure these areas can be enjoyed by residents and visitors.
Winchester City Council has gained permission from Historic England to carry out a specific cleaning program on the historic Buttercross monument and light jet washing will be used at the remaining sites.
The locations will be monitored for 6 months to assess the effectiveness of the current plan after which further measures may need to be taken as outlined in the Strategy, which can be viewed here:
http://www.winchester.gov.uk/environment/nuisance/pigeon-control-strategy