Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection (copy attached) updating members on the progress made against the Seagull Management Action Plan together with further proposed actions.

11.30 a.m. – 12 noon

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities introduced the Head of Planning and Public Protection Service’s report (previously circulated) the purpose of which was to update members on the progress made against the Seagull Management Action Plan, focusing on specific actions implemented in Rhyl and advising on proposed future actions to be taken.

In response to members’ questions the Lead Member and the Head of Planning and Public Protection advised that –

·         in Rhyl, the focus of recent seagull management activity had been on waste storage and Streetscene activities.  The progress achieved in these areas was the result of effective joint working between the Planning and Public Protection Service and the Highways and Environmental Services, who was responsible for waste management and Streetscene services.   Highways and Environmental Services had successfully transferred an additional 700 properties in Rhyl onto hard plastic food waste collection bins, these properties were previously on either sack collections or used large communal bins, both of which attracted seagulls and other pests.  The provision of individual bins had made the waste less accessible for the seagulls and consequently reduced the amount of litter in the area.  The Streetscene Service undertook street cleansing activities in Rhyl town centre on a regular basis and this helped with area’s appearance for residents, businesses and visitors

·         the reduced capacity within the Customers, Communication and Marketing Service had impacted slightly on delivering messages to the public with respect of not feeding seagulls etc. as the Service had to prioritise its work based on urgency and staff availability.  However, communications were very good and did not have to be resource intensive  i.e. asking people and businesses to display posters in their windows etc., using social media to relay messages to the public

·         not all complaints in relation to seagulls, and/or of people feeding them, were received via the Council’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, some were received directly by the Service itself.  If a complaint was received the first course of action would be to issue a warning letter (a copy of which was attached at Appendix 3 to the report).  To date the practice of issuing the letter had been sufficient and no legal notices had been served on any individual for feeding seagulls.  No complaints had been received in relation to anyone feeding seagulls in public spaces

·         taking enforcement action against individuals for feeding seagulls would be extremely difficult, but if required enforcement officers in the Planning and Public Protection Services could exercise enforcement action against persistent offenders.  Nevertheless, to date this course of action had not been needed.  The majority of people responded positively to the posters displayed in coastal towns asking people kindly to “feed the bin” not the seagull (Appendix 4 to the report) and to warning letters issued

·         seagulls were intelligent creatures and would in order to survive follow food supplies, hence the reason why there seemed to be an increasing number of them to be found in the county’s inland market towns

·         deterrent measures such as erecting bunting had been trialled in coastal areas.  This had proved an effective deterrent initially until the seagulls had become accustomed to it and realised that it would not harm them

·         problems caused by seagulls were not unique to Denbighshire, similar problems were encountered across Wales.  It was therefore extremely disappointing that none of the three public bodies lobbied in relation to the problem following the Committee’s discussion on the Seagull Management Plan at its March 2018 meeting, namely Welsh Government (WG), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) had even acknowledged, let alone responded, to the letters sent on the Committee’s behalf, and

·         wherever possible all new Council buildings (including schools) were fitted with seagull proof measures i.e. on roofs, lampposts etc.  A similar approach was also used when undertaking major refurbishment work on Council-owned premises.

Members emphasised the benefits of educating children in the county’s schools on why they should not feed seagulls and asked officers to enquire with the Education Service whether this aspect of community responsibility could in anyway be featured within the curriculum, similar to the approach taken for teaching pupils about the importance of not littering, particularly at the primary school education stages.  The Committee requested that the Lead Member and officers write again to WG, NRW and WLGA seeking support and assistance to local authorities to deal with the problems caused by seagulls, and registering disappointment that the first letters were not even acknowledged let alone a response received.  The Head of Planning and Public Protection undertook to action these points and to liaise with Highways and Environmental Services to explore potential opportunities of having promotional stickers, based on the poster, placed on safe secure bins located across the county.

Members commented that it would be beneficial if the County Council could work with City, Town and Community Councils with a view to having secure public waste bins in all communities in due course and also make it compulsory for all food related businesses to have secure food waste containers.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee –

RESOLVED that subject to the above observations and the provision of the requested information –

(a)       correspondence be sent once again to the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Local Government Association seeking support and assistance for local authorities to deal with problems associated with Seagulls due to their protected species status, and;

(b)       to support the actions taken to date, and identified for the future, in relation to Seagull Management in Denbighshire.