‘Let’s clean up’ - Councillor’s appeal to give town’s pigeon poo problem the push

Harry Clarke, Breckland District and Dereham Town councillor, put forward a proposal at last months's town council meeting to call in the experts to undertake a survey of the feral pigeon issue within its centre.

He said: 'Many of us had been concerned for some time at the problem which causes damage to buildings, is a danger of disease and literally adds to the 'unsightly sites' list, which I reported on behalf of residents over year ago.

'One of those sites, the Akash restaurant, is now at the top of Breckland's action list.

'Some will have seen the concern at Diss Town Council, after a child's death in Glasgow, and the appalling state at the front of the town's Barclays bank, including the ATM covered in excrement.'

Harry Clarke. Picture: ARCHANT LIBRARY (Image: Newsquest)

At the end of last year the Barclays branch, on Market Place, vowed to clean up its act after receiving a complaint about large quantities of bird mess on its exterior walls and cashpoint .

At the time, resident Justin Dack took to social media to express his disgust after finding birds faeces covering part of the cash machine.

The father-of-two posted on Twitter and shared photos.

A spokesperson from Barclays quickly responded and promised to feed back to the management team of the branch. Earlier this year, contractors visited the branch to clean the front of the building and to help develop a long term solution to the problem.

Barclays bank in Dereham covered in bird poo before it was cleaned earlier this year. Picture: ARCHANT STAFF (Image: Archant)

Mr Clarke has since thanked the management personally.

He has also toured the town with two pest control experts from a national company, who pointed out areas of concern.

'I hadn't noticed,' he said. 'These include deceased pigeons on ledges and excrement, and nests near food outlets to name two issues. I have reported these to Environmental Health.

'I have also reported these result to the Dereham Town Council, who agreed to write to the offending property owners and encourage them to take action to prevent pigeons roosting.

'Fast food outlets and their customers can play their part too by making sure any waste or wrappers are placed in a bin.

'Let's clean up the town centre and its high street.'

Mr Clarke added that the situation would be 'monitored closely' and hoped to see improvements.