Pigeons blight many a town centre across the UK, damaging buildings with their droppings and generally being a nuisance. However, plans for ...
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Pigeons could be lured from the centre of Huntingdon, to a new feeding area on the outskirts of the town as part of a proposal which could cost the council up to £10,000.
A dedicated feeding area could be providing pigeon meals by Spring 2007 in a bid to free the town centre of the birds, but only if numbers increase.
Huntingdon Town Centre Partnership has for the past few years been looking into ways of reducing the number of pigeons after complaints from the public. "We have looked in to the pigeon problem in Huntingdon town centre in great detail," said a spokesman. "Many people do not want pigeons because either they see them as being dirty, or are scared of them, and we are trying to address this."
In March 2005, the partnership commissioned a report by Picas UK, who specialise in providing advice and support on controlling pigeon populations without resorting to lethal measures.
Picas recommended that a feeding area for pigeons should be built on the outskirts of the town centre. This option is now being considered by the partnership, which had identified a site for the new feeding area, opposite the bus station.
However, its request to turn it in to a pigeon feeding area was turned down by the owners of the land, The Huntingdon Freeman's Society. Another site has now been identified next to the bus shelter and the partnership has submitted a proposal to the Huntingdonshire District Council for consideration.
The scheme, which could cost between £5,000 to £10,000, would also include a public education campaign and possibly new bylaws to prohibit the feeding of pigeons in the town centre.