Householders in St Andrews have declared war on the local gull population.
St Andrews Community Council has called for urgent action after hearing that the nesting problem has intensified in the town centre. Many rooftops in housing schemes in the south and east of the town are also being “inundated”, community councillors were told.
Speaking on behalf of a group of town centre residents, Stephen Spackman said the third year of a resident-led scheme to control the gull population had identified particular problems with numbers, noise, pollution and aggression in the conservation area of St Andrews. The growth of food outlets and the development of a pavement caf culture also proved to be “very attractive” to gulls.
While it was illegal to kill gulls, which are protected by legislation, it was not illegal to remove nests containing eggs, Mr Spackman said.
In the east end of town, measures had included the targeted removal of nests and eggs at three-week intervals the gull gestation period by an experienced roofer during the breeding season from May to August.
Gull-proofing measures were also being encouraged to prevent nesting in the future.
In the west end a hawker had been employed to deter gulls from nesting and to remove nests and eggs where accessible.
In terms of results, the east end nest and egg removal prevented a doubling of the population and gull proofing contributed to a much quieter and cleaner summer.
In the west end nest removal was patchy but again an increase in gull population seemed to be controlled.
Mr Spackman said the most striking evidence of the success of the scheme was the contrast between the infestation of the commercial sections of Market and South Streets, which still require emergency clean-ups, and the quiet of residential areas.
He added: “We hope for an extension of the scheme in North and South Streets and its maintenance in the west end. With commensurate funding it should also be possible to start the control of seagulls in the commercial section of Market Street.”
Community councillor Alice Alexander said: “It’s not just the centre of town. I’ve never seen so many chicks in the Straiton Wynd/Forrest Street areas in the south of the town. They are nesting on the flat roofs.
Fellow community councillor Marysia Denyer, who highlighted problems in the St Nicholas Street area, said: “Even the pleasurable activity of feeding the ducks down the Kinness Burn has been taken away from us because the gulls swoop down and get the bread first now.”
St Andrews Fife councillor Dorothea Morrison said she had asked for the issue to be included on the agenda for the next St Andrews councillors’ locality meeting.