Pigeons have won a victory against a local council in a battle for occupancy in a Co Down town after a £25k plan to trap birds and unleash falcons failed to take off.
A move by Ards and North Down Borough Council to reduce the pigeon population in Conway Square, Newtownards, has come to nothing after elected representatives agreed not to take any further action at a recent committee meeting.
It followed an update by council officers who admitted that efforts to clear the popular area had only resulted in more pigeons taking up residence amid complaints that hundreds of birds were “dive-bombing” visitors and causing a mess.
Councillors on the Community and Wellbeing Committee were given the option of taking the battle against the unwanted winged visitors to the next level by introducing trapping and falcons at a further cost of £25,000.
However, no elected members in the chamber were prepared to countenance this line of action.
It means the original motion to tackle the pigeon problem, which was passed by members in November 2022, effectively came to an end.
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DUP Alderman Stephen McIlveen tabled the original motion and at the time he said the proposal aimed to “humanely” reduce the amount of pigeons harassing people relaxing in the town’s main square.
“The legacy Ards Council invested £5.5m in a public realm scheme in Newtownards — the bulk of that money was spent transforming Conway Square as the heart of the town,” he previously told the committee.
“One of the aims was to make the town more attractive to local residents and visitors and encourage a family-friendly evening economy.
“Conway Square was to be used, a plaza feel was envisaged to encourage cafe seating areas in the square. However, a big problem has arisen in the square, it’s not a new problem, but it is certainly an increasing one — pigeons.
“This is an issue that has been raised with me time and time again by constituents — huge numbers of pigeons roosting around the square, swooping down and upsetting people walking around and sitting at the square. There are pigeon faeces everywhere lying thick on the ground beside cafes, they are working hard to clean it, but it is a continuing problem.
“It does not make for a healthy or inviting environment. There are a range of diseases that can be caught from pigeon droppings, these are generally fungal infections that attack the lungs, and some of them attack the brain.
“They can cause pneumonia, and come from inhaling dust from droppings. Pigeons can carry bird lice, which can cause dermatosis in humans.”
Strangford MP Jim Shannon previously branded a swarm of pigeons as a health menace and complained that the birds were bombarding the town centre with droppings in addition to “dive-bombing” visitors.
He said residents wanting to use public benches were forced to clean them as he urged Ards and North Down Borough Council to take action to tackle the “plague” of 200-plus birds.
News Catch Up – Monday 17 February
A recent council report on the issue noted that complaints are occasionally received by the Environmental Health Protection and Development Service from residents and several business owners asking the authority to try and find a solution to the problems posed by feral pigeons.
“Interventions have been made in the past which successfully reduced bird numbers; however, the pigeon population has inevitably risen again,” it said.
“Tackling the challenging current issue of pigeon numbers has required the input of several council departments, with work ongoing by the head of Regulatory Services to introduce a byelaw to address bird feeding in Conway Square.
“The Environmental Health Protection and Development Service has made recommendations for bird-proofing improvements at Newtownards Arts Centre and is carrying out surveillance of bird movements to identify roost sites and put control measures in place. This alone has not been successful in reducing the number of birds and in fact, an increase in the bird population has been observed over recent months.”
The report highlighted several strategies suggested by experts after the council sought specialist advice including a combination of trapping and destroying the birds along using falcons to deter pigeon activity in the square.
“A request for funding has been made to the council’s Budgetary Panel to invest £25K in pigeon reduction measures in Conway Square. This was subsequently approved by the council at the 29 January 2025 meeting,” it continued.
“Due to the sensitive nature of pigeon control, the Environmental Health Protection and Development Service are seeking approval from the council to commence a procurement process to appoint a private pest contractor to carry out pigeon control during 2025/26 using the methods outlined above, rather than continue to try to tackle the issue in house.”
When officers asked councillors to approve a procurement process to include trapping and destruction of birds and the use of birds of prey as a deterrent, the chamber went quiet, and the recommendation fell.
No further comments were made on the item.