Summer is here but residents living in Duke Street, Lower Broughton, can't sit in their garden for fear of pigeon attack. The pigeons have taken up residence in a huge gap that connects the roof of one of the houses to a block of flats next door, with dire consequences...
"When they've had their babies you sit outside and an egg hit my head and dead babies drop down and things like that" says Anne, whose house is next to the flats "They wake me up at 5:30am cooing, throwing rubbish off the roof, and if I have the bedroom window open the room gets full of white dust which is bird poo. I've noticed that my breathing has got a lot worse since I moved in here."
Anne moved to the house - built by Countryside Properties in 2007, and managed by Contour Homes - around 18 months ago and has been plagued by pigeons ever since. She explains that Contour are aware of the problem, and a previous housing manager was on the verge of sorting it out but, since he left six months ago, nothing has happened. Now she doesn't want to spend another summer dodging eggs, dead pigeon chicks and guano while she sits in her garden.
"I sent pictures into Contour around two or three years ago, and the housing officer came and took pictures too" says Val who lives next door "I got pigeon crap on my arm in my garden, and guy who lives next door to me gets pigeon crap down the front of his glass balcony."
He tied a balloon up and it seemed to work, for some reason but Anne stresses that she can't climb on her roof to tie balloons up... "I even threatened to hire a ladder, get the newspapers in and go up with a power washer myself" she says, hoping that Contour will act before she takes such drastic action.
In the meantime, the flats next door have not only got a pigeon problem, they've also got a mouse problem, according to these ladies who believe it's all connected... "Where the pigeons are building their nests is part of the flats so they must be getting in there" says Anne.
Contour Homes acknowledges the problem and regional manager Peter Coventry told the Salford Star: "Our customers' health and safety is very important to us and we have installed spikes in the area to deter pigeons, in response to feedback from residents.
"We're sorry to hear of these latest problems and will be inspecting the site to see what additional steps we can take to try to improve the situation" he added "If there are issues with mice, we will also investigate this when we visit."
Local Councillor, Charlie McIntyre, is also aware of the problem and told the Salford Star "Contact with me was made during canvas in April and no reports to any councillors before that time. It was an issue I reported to Contour and acted on by Contour. I have had no further complaints to date, despite regular contact with one of the ladies on Facebook and both having contact details."
The ladies both pay service charges to Contour and add that security gates in the car park don't work, CCTV has still not been installed, they are having to pick up litter outside their houses themselves and, last year, had to pay for huge trees to be removed that were planted yards from their windows.
Together with the pigeon plague, it's all a long way from what was promised to residents of the former Lower Broughton who had their perfectly good houses demolished to make way for `New Broughton'. Back then, `New Broughton' was being promoted by Countryside Properties as `Supurbia'. Maybe they should change that to Supoobia...
See also Salford Star article from 2008 - In Supurbia - click here
Graphic by Steven Speed
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