An Arbroath ”seagull whisperer” has persuaded Angus Council to, quite literally, paint the town red.
Ian Watson’s colourful idea to curb the county’s gull problem is to be further investigated, and red patches will be painted at gull ”hotspots” across the town. The impact will be monitored before the survey results are considered later this year.
The Arbroath community councillor’s Dragons’ Den-like idea has got everyone in the town talking, and was demonstrated to neighbourhood services director Ron Ashton at Victoria Park on Wednesday.
Mr Watson believes the colour red is a deterrent to the gulls, and Mr Ashton turned up at the park after the community council requested a site meeting. Mr Watson placed a bright red panel on the grass and put bread down on it as the seagulls flocked above him.
The birds would not come down to feed off the red board but did fly down to pick up bread placed on a black board.
A spokeswoman for Angus Council said: ”A council officer attended a demonstration in Arbroath today, given by the community council, to show the possible effects of red patches in deterring the seagulls.
”As a result of the demonstration, the council will now lay down red patches in specific areas of the town, for example , at waste bins.
”During the summer months, the impact of these patches in deterring seagulls will be monitored. Council officers will note findings when and where possible, and members of the local community council will also be asked to assist with the survey by undertaking spot checks on busy areas where seagulls normally cluster and create a nuisance.”
Mr Watson described the council’s decision as ”fantastic news.”
”I’m pleased they are going ahead with this, and the community council will be more than delighted to help,” he said. “This shows how effective community councils can be in getting things done.
”The attention the idea has been getting is fantastic and the public support has been really good. The seagull problem is up there with dog fouling as one of the major bugbears for people in Arbroath.
”I’ve said all along that anything that can be done to tackle this issue must be investigated because the seagulls are getting far too comfortable in the town.
”We need to force them back to where they should be because seagulls can be aggressive during the summer breeding where they start swooping down to snatch food out of people’s hands.
”If this is a success we would eventually hope to see red bin bags and red bin lids being introduced to act as a deterrent.”
Mr Watson came upon the idea when he was throwing out a leftover piece of his daughter’s red-iced 21st birthday cake. The gulls have, over the years, come in greater numbers to nest on the roof of his house, and he began to study their eating and nesting habits.
There have been constant complaints from residents in Arbroath and Montrose about the scavenging gulls attacking people, fouling and vomiting on cars, pavements and roofs and causing noise nuisance.
Community council chairman Mike Cosans said he is pleased the local authority is willing to look at the idea rather than just dismissing it out of hand.
Arbroath and Letham councillor David Lumgair said he believed the demonstration was ”inconclusive”. He admits the idea is worthy of further investigation, but feels the gulls might be put off by the red glass because it’s something different.
He said: ”I think you would have to put bread down on a red panel and leave it for a period of time to see if they eventually become accustomed to it, which I think they would.”